Master of the Basics
by shadowsrisen
Summary: Overpowered jutsus are overrated! Watch as Naruto uses only low rank jutsus (C rank or lower) and his wits to defeat his opponents. Smart Naruto Naruto x Harem Naruto x femHaku x Tenten x Fu x Samui Part 1 of 2 and will cover Pre-Timeskip. [Abandoned, Adopted by aroneden]
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. **

This chapter has been edited as of 12/26/15. The pairing for this story has been confirmed. The pairing will be a Naruto x femHaku x Tenten x Fu x Samui. The pairing is final as the poll has been closed. No other girls will be included because I don't want the harem to be too big. Also this story's plot is about Naruto learning C-Rank and below jutsus. Jutsus such as Shadow Clones and Rasengan will be learned by Naruto in the sequel. Thanks for reading!

**A.N.**

Hello everyone! I decided to make a Naruto fanfiction centered on a smart Naruto. He will learn low rank jutsus and find creative ways to use them. The **Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) **is super useful, I don't know why it's not used more often. Maybe it has to do with not having enough logs around?

This story will be AU and will follow the canon storyline loosely just so I can match with the timeline. I'll try my best not to bash characters so forgive me if it looks like I am. Regarding pairings, honestly I don't know at the moment. It won't be a NaruSaku, NaruHina, or NaruIno because there are so many fanfiction of those pairings. Some characters will be older or younger, for example, Naruto will be a year older than the rest of rookie 9 or the same age as Team Gai.

If you notice any grammar/spelling issues, please inform me so I can reedit the chapter. Well I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Master of the Basics.

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

**Jutsu/Biju**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

It was a peaceful morning in Konohagakure no Sato as many of the civilians were going about their daily lives. The lone exception was a little blond boy running throughout the streets, hoping to shake his pursers. The boy hid between gaps of buildings while sticking in the shadows to conceal his bright orange jumpsuit. The blonde paused to catch his breath as he wiped the sweat off of his whiskered face. Green googles were fastened on his forehead as his bright blue eyes scanned the surroundings, eyeing his safe haven.

Finding the coast to be clear, the boy dashed towards the red light district of Konoha. He smiled, sure of his victory, when he was suddenly hoisted into the air by his jacket collar. "NA-RU-TO!" An irritated male voice said as he looked at the boy. Nine year old Uzumaki Naruto turned to see his diabolical Academy instructor.

"Geh." Naruto blanched. "How do you always find me Iruka-sensei?" The boy asked, trying to struggle out of his captor's grasp. Umino Iruka was an average height Chunin that served as an Academy instructor. He wore blue shinobi overalls underneath his green flak jacket. Iruka's most prominent features were his brown hair that was typically tied in a ponytail and a scar on the bridge of his nose.

"We're going to the Hokage, where you'll explain yourself." Iruka said. He placed the young boy on his shoulder and walked towards the Hokage building, ignoring the various stares from the villagers of Konoha. Upon arrival, Iruka greeted the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Hiruzen was an elderly man that served as Konohagakure's leader. Despite his elderly appearance, many shinobis feared him for his vast arrays of jutsus. This eventually earned him the moniker, 'The Professor.' As the strongest person in the village, his word was typically the law but a few were beginning to undermine his rule. Hiruzen had initially retired from his position but was forced back into duty after the death of his successor.

"Ah thank you Iruka. I was hoping that you would be able to find Naruto-kun." The Sandaime said as he lit his pipe of tobacco. The scarred Chunin bowed in recognition before dropping Naruto unceremoniously on the ground.

"Be a little gentle will you, Iruka-sensei." The boy complained as he rubbed his sore behind. Before Iruka could retort to his student, the Sandaime intervened.

"Naruto I have several reports from people claiming that they've seen you painting graffiti all over the Uchiha Compound." Hiruzen stated. "Is this true?" The old man asked for confirmation. Sometimes the villagers would blame Naruto for things the young boy didn't committed in order to get Naruto in trouble.

"Of course that was me. No one else is able to pull off a prank that awesome. I actually think this is my best prank yet old man." Naruto replied as he gave a foxy grin. He had pranked the Uchihas because they often sided with villagers when the villagers pressed charges against Naruto. Of course the charges were usually falsely accused but the military police didn't believe him.

"Show Hokage-sama some respect Naruto." Iruka scolded as he wished his student would mind his manners. The Hokage could only chuckle as the two began bickering with each other.

'_If only the rest of the villagers would treat Naruto like Iruka does.' _Hiruzen remarked sadly. He knew that the boy was hated for what he carried. The Sandaime had tried a variety of ways to make Naruto's life easier. From making laws to giving the boy a monthly stipend was just some of the ways that he tried. Still the villagers would try to sabotage the boy every chance they got. "Well since you take credit for the act, as punishment, you're to clean the ENTIRE compound."

Naruto's face instantly soured from the words. "WHAT!?" He shouted loudly. "What do you mean I have to clean it?" The blonde asked in protest. Hiruzen calmly took a drag from his pipe and blew the smoke into the air.

"Think of this as a lesson. Shinobi are required to have a variety of skills to succeed in a mission. One of those skills is stealth. Learning to complete your objective without being spotted could be a matter of life and death." The Sandaime advised the Academy student. Naruto rubbed his chin as he processed the words he just heard.

"So as long as I don't get caught in the act, I don't have to worry about receiving punishments." The boy summarized while flashing a wide grin. Both Hiruzen and Iruka shuddered at the innocent smile. But before they could say anything, Naruto continued. "Thanks for the advice old man. I'm going to head off and start on my punishment. I'm going to make sure that this is my last punishment." With that, he finished and left the room.

The two adults silently stared at the door where the blonde left through. "Iruka please tell me I didn't make the situation worse." Hiruzen hoped while rubbing his temples with his thumbs. A headache was quickly forming because of Naruto.

"Don't worry Hokage-sama, there's absolutely no way that we won't be able to catch Naruto if he pulls another prank." Iruka tried to reassure the Hokage. _'That being said, besides me, no one else has been able to catch him recently. I hope I'm thinking too much into this.' _The brunette Chunin mused.

***Later that evening***

Naruto finally finished scrubbing out all of the paint from his prank. He had forgotten how huge the place actually was. The Uchiha Compound was located northeast of Konohagakure, isolated from most of the village. The compound spanned several acres, making it easily the biggest clan compound. Collapsing on the ground near the front entrance, Naruto remembered the Uchihas he saw during his cleanup. Almost all of them were subtly glaring at him or whispering things like 'demon boy' behind his back.

He did manage to see Sasuke, who was practicing on a dummy. Naruto usually didn't associated with the other boy as they were stark opposites. Sasuke was the upcoming prodigy while Naruto was known as the dead last. The blond was overly friendly while the Uchiha kept more to himself. This resulted in the two arguing whenever they saw each other. This time was no different as Sasuke said that Naruto was trespassing. They argued until the blond eventually left to finish cleaning up.

Naruto steadied his breath as he laid on the ground. Hearing footsteps coming towards him, Naruto turned to see a woman carrying a plate and a glass of water. The long blue haired woman was wearing a dark blue kimono held together by a white sash. On the back of the kimono was the Uchiha symbol, a fan that was red on top and white on the bottom. "Good job on cleaning up your prank." The woman smiled as she bent down on the ground. She placed the glass and plate in front of Naruto. The boy sat up and looked at her oddly.

"Who are you?" Naruto pointed to her. "And what's this?" He then pointed to the plate that was holding several sandwiches.

"Oh forgive me." The woman replied. "I'm Uchiha Mikoto and you are-"

"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you, dattebayo," He replied back while smiling. The lady in front of him seem friendly. She hadn't curse or glare at him even after he told her his name.

'_Hmm dattebayo, why does that sound familiar?' _Mikoto mused as an image of a red haired female popped into her head. Looking closely at Naruto's features, she began to see his resemblance to Kushina. _'Could __he possibly be Kushina's son but I thought the baby died along with Kushina?' _Mikoto continued to stare at Naruto, unnerving the blond. '_Oh Kami, if you take away those whiskers, then you have a carbon copy of a younger Minato. I need to talk to Hokage-sama about this.' _

"Is there something on my face?" Naruto wondered as he began to feel around his face. This snapped the blue haired woman from her trance.

"Oh it's nothing." Mikoto replied quickly. "Here, have something to eat. I'm pretty sure you're feeling hungry." She said to change the subject. Naruto eyed the sandwiches suspiciously, wondering if it was tampered with. It was odd that someone was willing to give him free food. The only person that ever did that was the Sandaime. Seeing the food, caused his stomach to rumble. With his stomach winning out, he graciously accepted the sandwiches and began devouring them.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Naruto asked with a mouth full of food. Mikoto was disturbed by the sight. She briefly wondered if he was ever taught manners.

"Uzumaki-san, please finish eating before talking." The Uchiha matriarch released a small killing intent to get her point across. The blonde was startled by the killing intent and quickly nodded his head. After a minute, the plate and glass were empty.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" The boy once again asked. "You can call me Naruto by the way. I'm not good with the honorifics and stuff."

"Well can I call you Naruto-kun then?" Mikoto's question was answered with a nod of Naruto. "Well the reason why I'm being nice to you is because I saw you working hard cleaning up. So I thought you deserved a reward."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Why should I get a reward?" He asked before clarifying. "This was my punishment for pranking your place."

"That may be but nonetheless, you deserve something for working hard." Mikoto smiled at him. He blushed from the praise.

"Thank you Mikoto-san." Naruto said shyly as he scratched the back of his head. She frowned mentally, wondering if the boy was ever praised before. Standing back to full height, Mikoto helped Naruto off the ground.

"Now I must ask, Naruto-kun, why did you prank the Uchiha compound?" The blue haired woman inquired. Naruto pondered for a second before giving his answer.

"Well someone had to teach the Uchiha pricks a lesson." The boy answered. Realizing his mistake, Naruto hastily spoke one more. "I don't mean you're a prick Mikoto-san. I'm talking about the other Uchihas." He said nervously, hoping he didn't offend her. Mikoto chuckled at how the little boy was acting.

"Can you promise me not to prank this place again?" Mikoto asked politely.

Naruto shook his head, much to her dislike. "I can't promise that." The blonde replied.

"Okay, how about a deal then?" She proposed, getting his attention. "If you promise not to prank the Uchiha Compound then I will teach you how to be a shinobi."

"How do you know I attend the academy?" He asked.

Mikoto smiled as she answered his question. "My sons, Sasuke-kun and Itachi-kun, talk about you." It was more of Sasuke complaining how the blonde boy kept on interrupting class with his pranks. Naruto received the shock of his short life.

"You're the mom of Sasuke-teme!" He shouted in disbelief. "How can the mom be so nice but the son be such a jerk?" Naruto muttered, trying to wrap it around his head that Mikoto was Sasuke's mom. "Wait a minute. Who in the heck is Itachi?" As on cue, an ANBU wearing all black and a weasel mask appeared before the two.

"Itachi-kun/Weasel-nii." The two said from the appearance of the ANBU. Naruto ran up to the ANBU and gave him a hug. Every time someone tried to harass Naruto, an ANBU would typically be there to intervene. Usually it was Weasel, Dog, or Cat that came to his rescue. Weasel would even piggyback Naruto back to his apartment. The blond loved to fly across the rooftops on Weasel's back as he felt safe from all dangers.

"Hello Kaa-san, Naruto-kun." Itachi replied to the two, slightly surprised to find Naruto in front of the compound.

"Wait." Naruto said in realization. "So your name is Itachi, not Weasel?" The blond asked as he released the hug. It would be weird if his name was actually weasel.

Itachi nodded to the question. "Yes, my name is Itachi." The Uchiha heir said as he removed his mask. "Naruto-kun, can you promise me not to tell anyone my real name?"

"Sure thing Itachi-nii. Your secret is safe with me." The boy replied confidently. Mikoto smiled watching the two boys interact. "Mikoto-san is it too late to accept your deal?"

"Of course not Naruto-kun. I take it that you accept then?" She asked to which he nodded. "Well, how about I meet you at Training Ground 11 after school?"

"Where's that?" Naruto inquired. Itachi decided to answer the question.

"Directly south of the Shinobi Academy, there are multiple training ground. There is usually a sign that indicates what number the training ground is. Simply find the number 11 and you'll be at the right training ground." The Uchiha male explained.

The jinchuriki nodded to them and was about to head off when Mikoto stopped him. "Wait a minute Naruto-kun." She said before heading to her home. A minute later, she came out with a book. "Here Naruto-kun." Mikoto handed him a book titled 'Shinobi Basics 101'. "I want you to try to read all of this before we see each other tomorrow."

"I hate books." The blonde muttered. "I don't want to read it." Naruto said as he politely handed the book back.

Mikoto denied it and shook her head. "Naruto-kun if you want to be a great shinobi, you need to read books."

Itachi agreed with his mother. "Naruto-kun, books have knowledge in them. The more knowledge one possesses, the stronger the ninja becomes." The male Uchiha reasoned. Naruto sighed, knowing it would be futile to resist. He reluctantly accepted the book.

"Okay, I'll try to finish it by tomorrow." Naruto frowned slightly before turning to the two Uchihas. "Bye Itachi-nii and Mikoto-san." He said his farewells before leaving the compound and towards Ichiraku's.

"Kaa-san." Itachi said to get her attention. "May I ask why you wish to train Naruto-kun?"

'_There's a chance that he's the son of my best friend and she'll never forgive me for not being in his life.' _Obviously she couldn't tell Itachi that. "I always wanted to help my sons train but your father wouldn't permit it. So I thought it would be nice to train Naruto-kun."

Itachi stared at her impassively and nodded. "That is fine mother but I believe you should talk with Hokage-sama about this." He said and began walking towards their house.

"Well I'll do just that. Tell your father and Sasuke-kun I will be back shortly." Mikoto then used **Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) **to appear outside the Hokage Tower. Luckily it was late in the day so having an audience with the Hokage was easy. After being let in by the secretary, she appear in the room where Sandaime was doing paperwork.

"Oh Mikoto-chan what can I do for you today?" Hiruzen smiled as he glanced up from his work and gestured Mikoto to sit.

The Uchiha matriarch sat down as the elderly man gave her his attention. "Hello Hokage-sama, I wish to talk about matter regarding a certain blond headed boy and his heritage."

With a wave, Hiruzen dismissed all the ANBU in the room and activated the privacy seals. "What do you wish to talk about that pertains to Naruto?" The image of a friendly grandfather was replaced with that of the **Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi)**.

"I wish to know why I wasn't informed that Kushina's son was alive." The Uchiha woman went straight to the matter at hand.

Hiruzen took a puff from his tobacco pipe. "Why do you believe that Naruto is the son of Kushina?" Mikoto let out a sigh and began explaining.

"Hokage-sama. I can't believe no one including myself hadn't seen it sooner. If you take away Naruto's whiskers, you'll have a carbon copy of Minato when he was younger." Mikoto said as she was still in disbelief.

Hiruzen nodded, believing the same. The nod was all Mikoto needed to confirm her suspicions. "When people are blinded by hate, they fail to see the most obvious of things." He remarked sadly and wondered if the village will ever regain the Will of Fire. Meanwhile, Mikoto was feeling angry not only at the villagers but angry at herself for not noticing it sooner.

"Does he know about his heritage?" She asked even though she suspected that Naruto didn't know.

"Just like with the Kyuubi, his heritage is an S-Class secret. This is to prevent the likes of Iwa and Kumo coming here to either kill or kidnap him." The Hokage explained. She agreed because that would most likely happen if Iwa and Kumo would ever come to know of Naruto's existence.

"Hokage-sama, please allow me to adopt him. It is the least I could do for Kushina's boy after not being in his life for nine years." Mikoto knew she would feel Kushina's wrath if she ever saw the red head again.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that." He answered.

"Why, Hokage-sama?" Mikoto was confused. Why was he refusing her?

"If I were to let one of the clans adopt Naruto, then that clan would have more power over the others due to the fact that Naruto is a jinchuriki. Believe me when I say that you weren't the first to approach me to adopt him after finding out his heritage." Hiruzen answered her.

"Who else knows besides us?" Mikoto was shocked that others knew of this secret as well.

Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe. He really was too old for this job. "Including us, it would be Jiraiya, Shikaku, and Shibi. Jiraiya is Naruto's godfather but unfortunately he has a spy network to run so he can't be here. Shikaku found out when he went to pick up his son from the park. He saw Naruto and immediately connected him to Minato. Shibi said that his kikaichu detected that Naruto's chakra was similar to his parents. The latter two also asked to adopt him."

"I see." The mood depressed as Mikoto uttered those words. "Would it be alright if I taught and trained him to be a shinobi?" She asked, hopeful of the Hokage's answer.

The mood was no longer gloomy as Hiruzen chuckled. "I see absolutely no problem with that."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Mikoto's face instantly brightened as she bowed deeply.

"So the** Kawarimi no Megami (Goddess of Body Replacement)** is going to teach someone again." Hiruzen teased the younger woman.

Mikoto sighed at that nickname. "I really loath that moniker. Couldn't they come up with something else?" She frowned before addressing the rest of the statement. "I didn't even teach Shisui much, it was mostly due to his own hard work."

"According to him, you helped in making the **Shunshin no Shisui (Shisui of the Body Flicker)** into a deadly force he was known as. It's a pity that he committed suicide two years ago." Hiruzen remarked sadly. Shisui had committed suicide in hopes of quelling the flames of rebellion. It had worked as the Uchiha had temporarily halted their plans. It wasn't until recently that plans had begun anew. Mikoto nodded as she still remembered the compassionate Uchiha that was Itachi's best friend.

"Well I must leave to prepare dinner, please excuse me and have a good day Hokage-sama." She said as Hiruzen dismissed her. Mikoto exited the building with a swirl of leaves. The Sandaime sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"It's a pity that there aren't more Uchiha like you Mikoto. I can only hope that your clan doesn't do something hasty and actually try a coup d'état. Hopefully I can patch things up soon. He turned back to his paperwork as the pile seemingly got bigger since he last saw it. "I really need to look for a successor."


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 12/29/15.

**A.N.**

I've decided to change the title of this story to **Master of the Basics**. I've also decided to change the plot slightly. Naruto will now only learn C rank Jutsus and below. It fits in my story and it will be interesting to see how Naruto fights against others. So that automatically means no Shadow Clones since it is a B rank Kinjutsu.

Thank you everybody for the favorites and follows! That being said, this is my first story where I didn't get a single review. I'm probably being picky since, judging by the favorites and follows, people are interested in this story. Anyway if this chapter is good or bad, I hope you'll review as this is the longest chapter I've ever written.

**Chapter 2: A Learning Process**

On the way towards his two story apartment building, Naruto let out a heavy sigh. Graffiti of all colors decorated the wall leading towards his door. Words such as 'demon' and 'die' was commonly repeated among the writings. Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment room. He locked the door quickly after stepping into the apartment that the Hokage had brought for him when he was 4.

At just 4 years old, he was kicked out from the orphanage and left to wander the streets for food and shelter. His 'food' was overdue food products that were in the trash while his 'shelter' was either the forests or somewhere in the playgrounds. His luck turned for the better when the old man found him near the Sarutobi Estate. The Hokage quickly took him inside for some food and clothing. That day was the happiest day in young Naruto's life. Not only did he get to eat good food and had a roof over his head, the old man looked at him differently from the rest of the villagers.

Where the villagers would glare at him with hate and scorn, the Hokage looked at Naruto with sorrow and guilt. The boy didn't understand why but he was just glad that it was different. The Sandaime proceeded to rent him a room at an apartment complex on the edge of the red light district. As soon as he moved in, all the other occupants moved out. Even the land lord moved away, leaving him all alone in the two story building.

Even though Naruto didn't need to pay rent, he always wondered why people avoided him or downright hated him. For as long as he could remember, the villagers always looked at him in contempt. What crime did he commit that his birth was treated like the plague? Naruto figured his parents must have done something horrible. They either died or abandoned him, making the villagers punish him for their actions.

Naruto looked at the state of his desolate apartment room. The refrigerator, although in working condition, was mostly empty. Luckily, the cabinets were filled up to the brim with ramen cups. The day he discovered the food of the gods was the second happiest day of his life. Not only was it cheap but it tasted amazing. The small brown table that he owned was found in a nearby garbage heap. Cuts of all sizes decorated the table as if it was made that way.

His sofa was something he found in one of the abandoned rooms. At first it was in good condition but now cotton stuffing stewed out from the openings. One day, someone snuck into his apartment and ruined all of his furniture with a sharp object. Naruto could've asked the Hokage for help getting furniture but he didn't want to bother the old man who had an entire village to run. Deciding a shower was the best course of action, Naruto placed his orange monstrosity (as his teachers called it) into the washer. After a long shower, Naruto wore a white sleeveless shirt along with black shorts.

As he placed his orange outfit in the dryer for use tomorrow, he remembered the book that Mikoto gave him. Grabbing the book, the blonde headed into his room. His room was vacant besides a single brown dresser and a spring mattress. Both were in decent condition that he had found in the other apartment rooms. Plopping down on the bed, he looked at the book.

Naruto hated books with a passion. To him, it was all a bunch of big words mixed together to make long sentences. Whenever he asked the teachers to explain them, they would spurn him and called him an idiot for not understanding. With reluctance, the blonde opened the first page of the book. A note fell from the book and landed on his stomach. Naruto grabbed the note and read its contents.

_To Naruto-kun_

_If you found this note, then you listened to me and attempted to read the book. Great job on following my orders and you avoided punishment when we meet tomorrow._

Naruto sweat dropped at that sentence. Mikoto was such a nice person, there was no way she was going to punish him…right? Shaking his thoughts, he continued reading the rest of the note.

_I know some words will be difficult for you to understand so I want you to write down those words on a piece of paper and we'll discuss them tomorrow. I want you to know that reading this book will help you on the path on to becoming a ninja. If you don't believe me, this was Itachi-kun's first book. Without further ado, finish this book before we see each other tomorrow._

_Your future sensei, Uchiha Mikoto_

Naruto couldn't believe this book was once Itachi's. The male Uchiha was one of the strongest shinobis he had ever met. Granted, the blonde hadn't met many shinobis but he was sure that Itachi was strong. Deciding not to waste any more time, Naruto dove into the first chapter and began reading silently.

_A shinobi is a trained warrior that uses chakra. He's not a common bandit because he has a home to protect. That home is Konohagakure no Sato. In every Konoha shinobi harbors the Will of Fire. The Will of Fire is a belief that every shinobi loves, believes, cherishes, and fights to protect the village as previous generations had done before them. This belief is what allows Konoha to survive three Great Shinobi Wars and invasions from other villages. _

Naruto brought his hand up to his chest. _'Is it possible for me to have the Will of Fire as well? Can I honestly protect the same people that scorn me? Jiji once said that a Hokage protects his people. Maybe that's the same thing.' _Naruto thought to himself as he continued reading the book.

While reading, Naruto jotted down several words that he was unsure of on the back of Mikoto's note. Different topics came up in the book such as stealth, traps, chakra, jutsus, and etc. There was so much that he didn't know. Did his classmates learned this when he wasn't in class? He decided to finish the rest at school to make sure he wasn't late for class the next day. _'Who knows, maybe I won't be kicked out this time.' _Naruto thought as he drifted into slumber.

***Next Day***

The sun directed its rays at Naruto's face, causing him to twitch slightly. Blue cerulean eyes slowly opened and went towards his alarm clock. Noticing that he was still early, Naruto took a quick shower and had a ramen breakfast like always. The blonde grabbed the book from his bed, shoved it into his bag, and headed out of his apartment. Before he left, he made sure to lock his door. He didn't want anyone breaking into his apartment again. Finishing his preparations, he scurried off to the Academy.

When Naruto arrived to the class, he was greeted with an almost empty classroom. It seemed only a few people were here early. Not like any of them were his friends anyway. Naruto moved towards the window seat and pulled out the book and note, in case he came across any difficult words. He resumed reading where he left off last night. Naruto didn't notice the perplexed glances that his classmates gave him as they walked into the classroom. Most shrugged it off and went to talk to their friends.

A black haired boy, with his hair styled in a fan fashion, and a brown haired boy arrived in the classroom together like always. The black haired boy was Shikamaru, the heir of the Nara Clan. The Clan was known for their intelligence and using deer antlers to make medicine. The chubby boy next to him was his best friend, Chouji. He was the heir of the Akimichi Clan, evident by the red swirls on his cheeks. The two Clans shared a close bond along with the Yamanaka Clan.

Shikamaru instantly noticed the oddity as he spotted the blond haired prankster. Chouji didn't notice as he was preoccupied with his bag of chips. Chouji and Shikamaru made their way towards Naruto and gave him a quick greeting. The three along with Kiba were troublemakers during the early days of the Academy. Naruto returned the greeting before immersed himself into the book again. Taking a seat next to blonde, with Chouji sitting next to him, Shikamaru looked at the thing that made the hyperactive boy so quiet.

The jinchuriki was quietly reading a book titled 'Shinobi Basics 101' like it was an everyday occurrence. Despite not knowing what caused his friend's sudden change, Shikamaru smirked that Naruto was trying to improve. The Nara heir exchanged glances with Chouji, who seemed to be smiling as well. Naruto always seemed to find ways to keep Shikamaru interested in his actions. The black haired boy decided to take a nap as he wasn't going to solve the mystery known as Naruto anytime soon.

His plans were quickly thrown out the window when a raging storm of girls were chasing after a certain Uchiha into the classroom. Of course, the two in front of the other girls was a girl with platinum blonde hair and a girl with cherry blossom pink hair. The platinum blonde girl had her hair tied in a high ponytail with bangs covering the right side of her face. She was Yamanaka Ino, the heiress to the Yamanaka Clan.

The girl Ino was bickering with was Haruno Sakura. The two were best friends until they discovered that they were crushing on the same boy. Sakura had on a big red bow on her head as her pink hair swooshed in the air. The two girls came barreling into the room, leaving a dust cloud behind them.

"Can you loud mouth girls shut up? I'm going to go deaf in my ears." Inuzuka Kiba complained while covered his sensitive ears. His ninken, Akamaru, barked in agreement. His face had the signature Inuzuka's red fang markings on his cheeks. Akamaru, the white ninken, stayed mostly inside Kiba's grey, fur-lined hooded coat.

Although the rest of the class didn't say anything, they also agreed with the Inuzuka's words. Ino and Sakura quickly stood in front of Kiba with the latter pointing at him. "Shut up mutt, I'm not loud." Sakura screeched out, much to the annoyance of everyone. In the corner of her eye, the pink haired girl spotted Naruto sitting next to Shikamaru and Chouji. "Hey Naruto-baka, what are you doing?"

The blonde boy turned his attention from the book to Sakura. "Oh hey Sakura-chan, how are you today?" He friendly greeted with a smile. He didn't catch the insult that she attached to his name.

She replied with a fist to Naruto's noggin. "I told you not to call me that baka!"

Ino chimed into the conversation. "Seriously though, what are you doing?" She was curious on what made the fellow blonde sit still. Normally he would be too busy plotting some elaborate prank to even attend class.

Naruto showed the two girls the book. "I'm reading this book." Laughter erupted from the class with the exception from Sasuke, Aburame Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Hyuuga Hinata. The latter three frowned that everyone was laughing at him.

"The dead last is reading! I'm surprised that you even know how to read!" Kiba barked in between laughter. "I mean how's reading going to help you? You'll always be the dead last." More laughter was heard after Kiba spoke.

Naruto was livid at his classmates for mocking him. He was simply sitting and quietly reading without bothering anyone. What more could these people want from him? The jinchuriki was about to talk back to Kiba when he was interrupted by a lazy voice.

"You guys should really shut up. I can't sleep with this racket." Shikamaru said as he lifted his head up from his napping position.

"Shikamaru look at Naruto! The dobe is reading." The Inuzuka pointed towards Naruto.

"I have eyes, I can see that he's reading. Everyone that isn't blind can see that he's reading. If you look closely at the title of the book he's reading, then you would understand." The class looked at the title of the book that Naruto held. Before anyone could comment, Shikamaru continued talking. "Naruto knows that he's currently dead last in the class right now. So what does he do? He's trying to get better so he doesn't stay there. He's actually taking his shinobi career seriously compared to most of you." His lazy voice was somehow able to silence the crowd. The Nara heir turned towards the Kiba. "Personally I don't understand why you're laughing at Naruto. You're currently the third to dead last in the class, barely ahead of Naruto."

Kiba fumed at the end of Shikamaru's words. "I don't know why you're talking Shikamaru, you're second to dead last." Kiba smirked at his apparent victory.

"You're right." The black haired boy agreed. "But you don't see me boasting about my position nor do you see me belittling Naruto. I'm content with doing minimal effort to pass. You, on the other hand, better watch out before Naruto passes you up." The entire class, including Naruto, was stunned silent after Shikamaru finished talking. Before anything else could happen, Iruka and Mizuki walked into the classroom.

Iruka's brow rose at the quietness of the classroom but ignored it to begin today's lecture. Everyone quietly took their seats. Ino and Sakura didn't argue who sat next to Sasuke either. Iruka began today's lecture on the elemental nations. Naruto regained his composure as soon as the teacher started. He flashed a genuine smile instead of his usual fake smile. "Thanks for helping me out Shikamaru."

Shikamaru just smirked at the blond. "What are friends for?" The pineapple head then laid his head down and drifting off into his nap. Chouji held out his chip bag towards Naruto, an Akimichi sign of friendship. Naruto took a chip from the bag and nodded a thank you to Chouji. They both smiled and returned their attentions elsewhere. Chouji went back to eating his chips while Naruto just smiled with the thought of friends.

***After School***

Naruto rushed to Training Ground 11 as soon as class ended. Class was refreshing as he actually learned something and wasn't kicked out by the teachers. After some searching, he finally found the grounds he was looking for. When he entered the training ground, the blonde saw Mikoto. Training Ground 11 was ordinary compared to the other grounds. It was an empty grass field with nothing surrounding it. On the edges, there was several benches and tables. Instead of a training grounds, it looked more like a park. "Hello Mikoto-san!" The boy shouted as he headed towards the woman.

She returned the greeting with a smile. "How are you, Naruto-kun?"

"I had an awesome day! Today I read the book you gave me in class but people laughed at me." Naruto frowned as he recalled the incident. Mikoto frowned as well but decided to let the jinchuriki continue talking. "My friend Shikamaru told off the people who laughed at me. I didn't even know we were friends! Plus Chouji gave me a chip from his chip bag, which means we're friends too. Oh and Chouji is an Akimichi, just in case you didn't know. I was able to learn something in class and I wasn't even kicked out!" The hyperactive blond rambled on.

Mikoto continued to frown at some of the things she heard but didn't pursue the topic. The woman simply patted his head, glad that he was happy. "Alright Naruto-kun since you're so happy today, how about we go buy you some new clothes?" She suggested.

Naruto looked at her oddly. "What's wrong with my current clothes?" He said as he looked at his favorite outfit.

Mikoto shook her head. "Naruto-kun a good ninja needs to use stealth by blending into the environment. Bright orange basically paints a target on you." She hoped to reason with him.

As much as Naruto liked orange, he knew Mikoto had a valid point. "The problem is that shops don't let me buy anything. If they did let me buy stuff, it's really overpriced. This jumpsuit was the cheapest thing I can buy."

Mikoto stared at the ground impassively but inside was a tornado of emotions. '_How dare the civilians treat a young child like this!? The amount of hate he's receiving for something he has no control over is ridiculous!' _ The Uchiha woman steeled her emotions as she looked back up at him. "Come Naruto-kun, I know a shop that will sell you things at a fair price." She gestured to the boy.

Naruto stood rooted to his spot. "Mikoto-san while I appreciate it, why are you so nice to me?" The boy asked. He was unused to this level of kindness. First she offered to train him and now she was taking him shopping.

The Uchiha woman frowned once again. _'He's so used to being ignored by the village that he doesn't know how to perceive kindness without being suspicious. Kushina-chan, I regret not being there for your son earlier.' _Mikoto apologized to her friend, hoping for her forgiveness."Naruto-kun, I'm doing this because I want to." She assured him.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion but decided not to think too much about it. "Well let me go grab my money before we head off." Before Mikoto could protest, Naruto dashed away towards his apartment. After five minutes, he returned and they headed off to the shop. As they walked, villagers and shinobi alike gave them odd looks. They were all wondering what the Uchiha matriarch was doing with the demon brat.

Mikoto ignored their stares as they kept walking. Eventually, they stopped outside a shop called Higarashi's Weapons, where a young brown hair girl was attending the counter. Her hair was styled uniquely into buns.

"Hello Tenten-chan, can you call your parents for me? Mikoto asked the girl now known as Tenten. The girl bowed before scurrying up the stairs to retrieve her parents. Soon a middle aged man and woman, along with Tenten appeared.

"Welcome to our store Mikoto-sama." The man bowed. The man, who had a muscular build, was wearing blue overalls over his white shirt. His overalls were plastered with soot, giving him a dirty look. Black googles was lifted above his green eyes. His most prominent features were his bald head and brown, neck length beard.

"Kajiya-san [1], I told you not to call me sama. Mikoto-san is fine." She reminded before turning to the middle aged woman. "Good afternoon, Tera-san." The woman known as Tera was dressed elegantly in a kimono. The black kimono was decorated with a blue flower pattern. It matched the woman's dark blue eyes. Her brown hair was tied in a bun with a pair of silver hair sticks sticking out.

"Hello Mikoto-san, what can we do for you today?" Tera friendly asked.

"Actually, I would like you to help this one here." Mikoto ushered Naruto to the front. Tera and Kajiya instantly recognized who the boy was. The duo stared at Naruto and he began to feel anxious under their gaze.

"What is that monstrosity that you're wearing young man?" Tera said as she looked at the jumpsuit with disgust. "No don't answer, we'll get you new clothes immediately. Tenten, please get my tools." She told her daughter, who went to grab the tools. "Young man, I need you to strip." Naruto looked at her with shook and fear in his eyes. He quickly ran behind Mikoto to hide from the tailor.

"Naruto-kun, it's okay." Mikoto reassured him. "She just wants to measure your body to make sure your new clothes fit." Naruto saw Tera nod in confirmation from behind the Uchiha woman. Trusting Mikoto, he slowly took off his jacket and shirt. Instantly the temperature in the store dropped several degrees and killing intent leaked out from the three adults. Everyone stared at Naruto's body with utter horror.

His body was so skinny that you could see several outlines of bones. His arms looked like they would snap in half like twigs. His rib cage was in full display while his stomach was caved in. His entire figure looked like it could shatter into pieces if slightly touched. How he was able to look like that and be alive was a complete mystery. Naruto and Tenten shuddered under the killing intent. The boy collapsed onto his knees from the pressure and began holding his body to stop the shaking.

Seeing this, the adults immediately regretted their actions. Mikoto rushed to consul Naruto while Tera did the same with Tenten. Kajiya stood there and shook his head in disappointment. The Uchiha woman broke the silence as she released Naruto from the hug. "Naruto-kun what do you eat to look like that?" Mikoto didn't want to know, fearing what he would say. But the information needed to be known so she could properly help him.

"I eat ramen every day and that's pretty much it." Naruto answered sincerely. Mikoto didn't like his response.

"Don't you eat anything other than ramen?" The Uchiha asked.

Naruto shook his head negative. "I can't buy anything else at stores because they're either too expensive or spoiled." The boy confessed. Mikoto felt rage build up and did her best to suppress it so she wouldn't frighten Naruto again. Hearing his words, Tenten rushed up the stairs and return later with a bag of snacks.

"Here take this. They're mine but you look like you need them more than me." Tenten handed him her private stash of snacks.

"Are you sure I can take this?" Naruto questioned, to which she nodded. "Thanks. I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Higarashi Tenten." The girl pointed to herself. "Let's go get you a new set of clothes so I can burn those." Tenten dragged him along, followed by her mother. While waiting on him, Mikoto grabbed a kunai and shuriken set, a first aid kit, several sealing paper, two bottles of ink, a brush, and a chakra bokken. She dropped all of the items at the cash register. Several minutes later, Naruto came out from the back.

He wore a dark blue shirt that was covered by an unzipped black jacket that had a large orange Uzumaki swirl on the back. He had on black pants with orange streaks going along the side of each pants leg with matching combat boots. He replaced his old googles with a dark blue variety that hanged loosely on his neck. The outfit was honestly a little big on Naruto but hopefully he would grow into it. "Much better Naruto-kun, do you like your new outfit?" Mikoto asked the newly outfitted boy.

"I do but I think it needs more orange." Naruto was pleased but he needed more of his favorite color. Unfortunately the store didn't seemed to possess many things in the orange variety.

The older women chuckled at the response. "Well I think you look quite handsome in them." Mikoto complimented, causing Naruto to blush. "Tera-san, can we have several pairs of these clothes?" She asked the tailor. Tera and Tenten went off to retrieve the supplies while Naruto made his way to the counter.

"What is all this stuff for?" Naruto mused.

"I will explain this stuff to you later after we head to a few other places. Don't worry, you'll need these supplies for later." Mikoto answered while Tera and Tenten returned with the clothes.

Kajiya rang them up at the counter. "Since you're a new customer, I'll make it 40% off the final price. It will come to 40,000 yen in all." Naruto retrieved his overstuffed frog wallet and pulled out the money. Mikoto was shocked at the amount of money that Naruto had but chose not to dwell on it. "Alright I put all your things in this sealing scroll; you just add chakra to take them out. Come see us any time you need anything." The blacksmith said. Naruto nodded and waved goodbye to the Higarashi family.

Tenten quickly gave him a hug, which caused Naruto to blush slightly, and told him to start eating better. He promised that he would eat better after seeing everyone's expressions. Mikoto and Naruto made several more pit stops along the way. Naruto was introduced to the library, where Mikoto required him to read one book every week from the civilian section. As he went to check out the books that Mikoto gave him, the librarian stopped him from checking out the book.

Mikoto quickly gave her a glare and promised to tell the Hokage about the transaction, which prompted the librarian to let Naruto check them out. They then went grocery shopping for Naruto, who received the ire from other customers. Quick glares from the Uchiha woman made them cower away in fear. Placing the groceries in a sealing scroll, they headed back to Training Ground 11. The duo sat on a bench and relaxed under the sun.

"So what's all the stuff from Higarashi's for?" Naruto asked as he unsealed the items.

"Well Naruto, a long time ago there was once a village called Uzushiogakure near Kirigakure. In that village was the Uzumaki Clan, who was famous for its Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu. Fearing the Uzumaki, three of the major five elemental nations attacked Uzushiogakure during the Second Great Ninja War. Unfortunately Konohagakure wasn't fast to aid our allies and Uzushiogakure fell. Although in the end they won, the three nations that attacked lost 90% percent of their troops. This allowed Konohagakure to quickly win the war over the other villages. The Uzumaki Clan no longer exists but some of the people were able to flee in time. I figured that you would want to continue your Clan's history."

Mikoto finished her history lesson. Naruto soaked in all the information and a grin appeared on his face. Although sad that his Clan was destroyed, Naruto still held out hope. There was a chance that someone related to him existed. "I've decided!" He announced. "Along with my dream to become Hokage, I'll also look for other Uzumaki members. I'm going to learn this Fuinjutsu thing and Kenjutsu to honor my Clan."

Mikoto smiled at his proclamation. "I knew you would say that. That was why I got you sealing paper and a chakra bokken, along with introductory Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu books." She said, holding up each item. "Now Naruto-kun, Fuinjutsu is a very dangerous art, you must promise me that you'll be very careful while learning it."

"Yes Mikoto-san, I'll be extremely careful. What is Fuinjutsu anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Fuinjutsu is the art of sealing. It's very complex, so complex that it's considered a dying art. That being said Fuinjutsu is very helpful, as you can tell with the sealing scrolls." Mikoto commented. She also told Naruto that there was also a Fuinjutsu expert in Konoha but he wasn't in town at the moment.

"I guess I'll ask Hokage-Jiji about Fuinjutsu when he has time. What is a chakra bokken?" He asked. Naruto knew what they were separately but not together.

Mikoto held up the bokken. "If you apply chakra to this bokken, it would get heavier. This is used so you can get use to the weight of a real katana when you manage to get one. It's mainly used for training purposes." She explained.

He then asked Mikoto if she knew any Kenjutsu teachers. The Uchiha shook her head no but said that there were plenty of Kenjutsu users in Konoha so he might see one someday. While Mikoto was a Kenjutsu user, her style relied on the use of her Sharingan. They then reviewed the book that Naruto read yesterday. They went over the words he didn't understand and reread the more important chapters. "So when am I going to learn a super awesome jutsu?" Naruto asked with sparkles in his eyes.

"Before I answer that, Naruto-kun can you tell me what the three basic Academy jutsus are?" Mikoto asked.

"It's **Kawarimi no Jutsu, Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique), **and **Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique).**" Naruto answered.

"Well did you know that when I was in active duty, that my alias was **Kawarimi no Megam**i?" Mikoto said. Although she wasn't exactly proud of the name, she was hoping to get his interest. Naruto stared at her like she was crazy.

"Why are you called that?" The blonde wondered. "There's so many jutsus that are much cooler than the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**."

Mikoto nodded at his question. "You're right Naruto-kun. There are tons of cooler jutsus out there but the **Kawarimi no Jutsu **can save its user. Even if you have a cool jutsu to use, most of them can't help you escape from certain death. That's why I trained until I mastered the technique and was able to escape my enemies countless of time. Just because a jutsu isn't as cool as another jutsu doesn't mean it isn't as useful. If you master a low rank jutsu and know how to use it well, isn't that better than using a high rank jutsu at half the power?" She finished.

Naruto processed everything that Mikoto had said. It was true that every ninja knew **Kawarimi no Jutsu **because of how useful it was. "You're right Mikoto-san. I'll master the low rank jutsus first before trying to learn the high rank jutsus."

Mikoto smiled at the young boy. "If you do master the low rank jutsus, the high rank jutsus become easier to learn. Plus, there are so many low rank jutsus out there that you can have a variety of different jutsus. You'll truly be the most unpredictable ninja out there." She incited him. Naruto loved the sound of that. He hugged Mikoto as a thank you.

Mikoto could only return the hug she received from her best friend's son. "Okay we're going to start training and I expect you to work hard."

Naruto got up, confidence eluding from his body. "Yes Mikoto-sensei, I would be the best Hokage there ever was!"

***Several months later***

The past couple months were the happiest Naruto had ever felt in his life. The first time everyone saw his new clothes, they didn't initially recognize him. Shikamaru smirked and said "You never cease to interest me, Naruto." He was getting closer to his friends, Shikamaru and Chouji. The blonde was even invited to their homes a couple of times. He enjoyed playing shogi with Shikamaru even though he always lost. The Nara boy had to go into his thinking pose several times when playing against Naruto due to the blonde's unpredictable nature.

With Chouji, they had eating contests and were currently tied. Naruto finally found someone to share his love of the food of the gods. Naruto frequently ate at restaurants that the Akimichi owned because of the good food and the fact that he was welcomed there. The blonde was also made friends with Shino and Hinata. Shino was the heir to the Aburame Clan while Hinata was the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan.

Shino had bushy brown hair and often wore a pair of black sunglasses. He and Shino became quick friends when Naruto caught a golden Heracles beetle in the forest and brought it to class. The Aburame heir asked if he could have the beetle to see if could crossbreed it with his kikaichu. Naruto obliged since he was going to release it anyway. That was the day that the blonde swore that Shino's eyes shined bright even though he was wearing shades. They got along well despite Naruto's hyper activeness and Shino's stoic nature as they both shared a logical look at life.

Hinata had short dark blue hair and was usually shy. Having Hinata as a friend was initially weird, due to the fact that she constantly fainted whenever they would talk. She fainted less now but still blushed red quite often. They found that they both had a love for reading and even exchanged books from time to time. Naruto actually enjoyed reading a lot more now. He felt that he could immerse himself in a book and felt less lonely when reading.

Tenten would help him with his target throwing and would spar with Naruto on occasion. They often sparred with bokkens, with the girl showing him different styles. Some days they would just relax and talk about their respective classes. Naruto found out that he was held back a year by Jiji because he and Tenten were the same age.

His training was going well if he said so himself. Naruto was no longer the dead last but was still near the lower half of the class. Kiba was furious that he was passed by the former dead last but could no longer say anything about without being called a hypocrite. Iruka enjoyed that the blonde started paying attention during his lectures and was even friendlier towards Naruto. Mikoto trained him in studies, stealth, traps, and the three basic Academy Jutsus. The training in stealth and traps was great for his pranks.

Since he never got caught, like Jiji said, he never got punished for his pranks. The **Kakuremino no Jutsu (Cloak of Invisibility Technique) **greatly helped in the endeavor. Even though the whole village knew it was him, no one was able to catch him in the act. ANBU were on high alert after he had pranked their headquarters. All he did was apply itch powder to their uniforms. They even began using had code words for situations involving him. True to his word, he never pranked the Uchiha compound again. He only pranked some Uchihas that irritated him.

His training in the Academy Jutsus was going well except for the **Bunshin no Jutsu**. He was going to have to find a way to conquer it before graduation. He was able to master his first jutsu, **Nawanuke no Jutsu (Rope Escape Technique), **due to the fact Mikoto-san would make him escape from all kinds of bindings and in all sorts of positions. He questioned the usefulness of this jutsu but Mikoto pointed it out to him.

With this jutsu, he would be able to quickly escape if taken hostage or pretend to be captured so he could be led into enemy headquarters. Once inside, he could escape with valuable information or take down the boss. Naruto then knew any jutsu could be helpful depending on the situation. Now he was working on the **Kawarimi no Jutsu** by replacing himself with objects that were far away.

Although he sparred with Tenten, he was still unable to find a Kenjutsu teacher. This resulted in him only doing practice swings with his bokken. He read about different styles but wasn't sure which one was right for him. Naruto decided to postpone it until he found a Kenjutsu expert.

His Fuinjutsu, on the other hand, was going great. After practicing his calligraphy for nearly two months, he was finally able to write without messing up. The blonde was still on level one, which was identifying simple seals, but he was on his way to level two. The Hokage helped him maintain a steady hand and even suggested writing with his left hand as well. His reasoning was that his right hand might be occupied during battle, so he might need to write seals with his left.

His physical health was getting back to where he should be. He read a book on how to remain in ninja shape after recovering from an injury. Although he wasn't injured, the method helped him regardless. Mikoto gave him cooking lessons so the blonde could be self-sufficient. His new diet allowed him to gain pounds and he started to fill his clothing. That being said, the blonde was still the shortest in his class. He was exercising regularly and was doing lots of running to increase his stamina. Using **Henge**, Naruto was now able to buy foods and clothing at normal price.

Naruto marched on towards Training Grounds 11 but noticed several villagers' and ninjas' solemn expressions. Today was a beautiful day with a few clouds in the air. Why were they so sad? Deciding it would be best to ignore the villagers, Naruto proceeded to the training grounds where Mikoto would be. As soon as he arrived, she was nowhere in sight. '_Could she be stuck at home? No she would've told me beforehand at least.' _Naruto pondered when the Hokage came up to him.

"Naruto, I guess you haven't heard yet?" Hiruzen asked despite knowing the answer.

"What are you talking about Jiji?" Naruto was confused by the Hokage's question. "What haven't I heard?" He asked before thinking to himself. '_The old man's acting weird as well, what's going on?' _

"Follow me Naruto and don't ask anything until we get there." Hiruzen gestured to Naruto. They walked silently the whole way, even the villagers didn't pay him a passing glance. They arrived at the cemetery and Hiruzen stopped at a tombstone. On it read:

_Here lies Uchiha Mikoto_

_A loving wife and mother as well as a strong kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato._

"H-Hey Jiji, this i-is just a prank r-right? It's probably punishment for all the pranks I did. I'm sorry for whatever I did but this is going too far. I mean I just saw Mikoto-san yesterday. There's no way she's dead. She looked just fine yesterday." Naruto stuttered over his words. He knew it was a lie, it had to be.

"Naruto, yesterday night Uchiha Itachi murdered everybody in the Uchiha Clan except for Uchiha Sasuke. We have no idea why he did it but we'll ask Sasuke when he wakes up from his comatose state. I'm sorry to say that this isn't a prank." The Hokage said softly, not wanting to hurt his surrogate grandson. Naruto collapsed onto the ground, his entire world shattering.

'_There's no way Itachi-nii would do something like that. He's one the kindest person I know. Why would he kill everyone, especially his mother?'_ Naruto was at lost for words. _'__What__ was he trying to achieve? I-I don't understand what's going on anymore.' _Naruto's tears escaped his eyes and fell on the ground.

Inside Hiruzen was filled with guilt. Thanks to his incompetence, Danzo was able to order Itachi to kill every single Uchiha to prevent a coup d'état. He deemed himself guilty for the lives of all that died and the three affected most by their deaths. Itachi would be forced to live on the run, be pursued by hunter-nins, and deal with the turmoil that comes from killing his clan.

Sasuke would live thinking that he was the 'last loyal Uchiha' and be faced with loneliness that he had never experience before. He would also question why Itachi left him alive and possibly seek out revenge against his brother. Naruto lost his mother and older brother figure in a single night. Unlike Sasuke, he dealt with loneliness before but that didn't make it any less difficult. Hiruzen noticed that Naruto was beginning to truly smile at people since Mikoto came into his life.

The Sandaime knelt down and hugged his surrogate grandson, who was crying profusely. The Hokage cursed his inability to do anything right. He had failed Minato, Kushina, Naruto, and now the entire Uchiha Clan. Resolving to change, a fire was born anew within Hiruzen. He wouldn't fail no one else and Danzo would come to fear why he was known as the **Shinobi no Kami**.

[1] Kajiya means blacksmith while Tera means tailor.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as 12/29/15. I've added a final message from Mikoto to Naruto. Naruto will receive the note along with the wakizashi.

**A.N.**

I've finally decided on the pairings for this story and it'll be a Naruto x Small Harem. I know that a lot of people don't like harem but I like the idea of Naruto having a small group of girls that care about him. The harem will be 4 girls max. One spot is already filled by *drumrolls* femHaku! In canon, Haku was a major influence on Naruto. To this day, I refuse to believe Haku was a boy in canon. So I made Haku a girl and she will be important in this story as well.

There are three more spots open for the rest of the harem. I'll let the readers vote on which girl they want by poll and/or reviews. The poll will be displayed on my profile. You'll be allowed two choices so you have a total of four votes. I'll stop counting the votes, three chapters from now. Meaning, I'll announce the results when Chapter 6 is out. Here's the list and if you see a female that you want but isn't there, they most likely will play another role in the story.

Anko Mitarashi  
Fu  
Hana Inuzuka  
Karui  
Kin Tsuchi  
Konan  
Kurotsuchi  
Mabui  
Mei Terumi  
Samui  
Tenten Higarashi  
Yugito

This chapter was much longer than it was supposed to be. I was gunning for the Genin exams but it just didn't work out that way. Oh well more content for the next chapter(s). Reviews will be answered at the bottom of the chapter. Well enough talking, onto the next chapter!

**Chapter 3: Letting the fox out of the Bag**

Two weeks had passed since the Uchiha Massacre and life in Konohagakure had slowly returned to normalcy. Uchiha Itachi was placed in the bingo book as an S-Class missing ninja for massacring the Uchiha Clan. Uchiha Sasuke was placed under the care of elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, until he was sixteen or became a Genin. He was asked questions about Itachi as soon as he was awoken.

Sasuke responded with fits of anger when Itachi's name was brought up. Many civilians deemed it taboo to speak of Itachi's name in front of Sasuke when they saw how he reacted. Sasuke was readmitted into the Academy as soon as he was deemed healthy. During his recovery, his fan club grew to insane proportions. Fan girls and fan boys were hoping to help the 'tragic hero' and constantly hounded him with gifts. The boy, however, paid them no attention and trained constantly when he wasn't attending classes.

Our protagonist hadn't been attending class. He remained locked up in his room and only came out when summoned by the Hokage. Hiruzen was worried about his surrogate grandson and would often take him out to eat ramen. Naruto would eat a single bowl of ramen, thank the Hokage, and return home. Ayame and Teuchi were worried sick about their favorite customer.

Naruto woke up from his slumber. To him, time seemed still and nothing was worth getting up for. He missed talking to Itachi and training with Mikoto. '_Why did Itachi-nii do it? I don't believe it was to test his powers like the villagers are saying. Itachi-nii is too kind for that. There's no way he was faking all of that. He loved Konoha as much as the next person. He would do anything for Konoha.' _Naruto tried to decipher Itachi's actions but was coming up blank.

A light knock came from his door and Naruto grudgingly got up to open the door for the Sandaime. Except the person behind the door wasn't the Hokage, but his lazy Nara friend. "Hey Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" The blonde boy asked. Shikamaru said nothing while his eyes began scanning Naruto.

"Mom told me to come get you for dinner at our place, you troublesome blond." The black haired boy sighed at his friend. This was the first time he had seen the blonde in two weeks but Naruto looked like a shell of himself.

Naruto's clothes were ruffled and he had major bags under his eyes. Most likely from the lack of sleep and crying, seeing as his eyes were still red. "Sorry Shika, tell your mom that I'll come another time." The blonde refused the offer and was going to close the door until a hand stopped it.

"Naruto, you don't understand what that troublesome woman would do to me if I don't bring you. Look, I know you don't want to go but do it as a favor for me?" Shikamaru pleaded.

Naruto sighed and nodded. He told Shikamaru to wait for him to get dressed. In about fifteen minutes, the duo headed towards the Nara Compound. On their way there, villagers directed their scorn at the young jinchuriki. '_At least that's one thing that won't change anytime soon. Hopefully Shikamaru won't notice but I doubt it. He's way too perspective not to.' _Naruto thought as he walked. Like the blond thought, Shikamaru did notice that their glares were directed to his friend.

'_Those glares always appear whenever I'm with Naruto. Is it because of the pranks that he did? No, even a prank couldn't produce a look like that. Does it have something to do with the graffiti on his apartment wall? They were calling him a demon and telling him to die. Plus, all the adults seem to know something our generation doesn't. As always everything with Naruto is so troublesome.'_ Shikamaru thoughts ceased as the duo arrived at the compound.

Shikamaru directed Naruto to the backyard of the main house. "Surprise!" Multiple voices rang out as soon as Naruto came into view. Naruto stood there shocked at the people he saw. He saw his friends and most of their parents along with Ayame, Teuchi, the Hokage, and Iruka. He looked up to see a banner that read: Happy 10th Birthday Naruto! The boy had completely forgotten all about his birthday. Today was October the 10th, his birthday as well as the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. It was also the day the Yondaime Hokage died killing the Kyuubi.

A minute passed and no reaction came from Naruto. A slap hit the back of his head, releasing him from his stupor. He looked at Shikamaru who was giving a wordless look, '_Well say something, you troublesome blond.' _Naruto gave a wide grin and shouted his thanks for everyone to hear. His friends and Ino ran up to him and congratulated him on getting a year older. They even told him they got him presents! Naruto never got a birthday party or presents before.

He had no idea what to do so he thanked them again. The party went into full swing and Naruto quickly forgot the sadness that plagued him for the last two weeks. Teuchi and Ayame gave him a personalized ramen bowl that was decorated with fishcakes before they had to leave to open up the shop. Hiruzen wished him a happy birthday and told Naruto to meet him in his office for his present before he headed home. The blonde boy was happy that he was able to spend his birthday with people other than just the Sandaime.

He ate lots of cake and ice cream and was hyperactive the entire time, much to the disdain of the adults. Finally it was time to open to open the rest of the presents. Ino was the first to give her present. It was a purple hyacinth in a pot. "It means forgiveness in flower language. I hope you can forgive me for being mean to you all of these years." She apologized.

Naruto looked at her and smiled. "It's okay Ino, how about we become friends?"

Ino nodded and gave her own smile. "I would like that very much Naruto."

Inoichi and Noriko [1] Yamanaka nodded their heads, although for different reasons. The two Yamanaka were wearing yellow yukata with a purple flower design. Noriko had her brown hair tied in a bun with chopsticks holding it in place. Noriko was happy that her daughter gained a friend while Inoichi was happy that nothing was going on between Naruto and his princess. Shikaku and Choza shook their head at their friend's obvious happiness.

Iruka gave Naruto a stack of slips. "I wasn't sure what to get you." The scarred face Chunin admitted. The blonde boy opened the stacks to reveal a free bowl at Ichiraku's Ramen. "There's 50 slips in there. Anymore and you'll clean out my wallet." Iruka chuckled as Naruto went airborne to give him a hug.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei." The jinchuriki thanked his instructor.

Chouji gave him a one day, all you can eat pass at any Akimichi restaurant of his choosing. "You better tell your chefs to be ready because we're going to have an eating contest soon." Naruto challenged his big boned friend.

"You're going down! This will break our tie." Chouji shouted back. Choza and Chiharu [1] Akimichi grew pale and were rapidly making plans to gather extra supplies. The two Akimichi were wearing white yukatas that was decorated with red swirls, the Akimichi symbol. Chiharu's short black hair had a red flower clipped on.

Hinata gave him the latest book to in the Doki Doki series. The series was immensely popular with the female population and rivaled the Icha Icha series in sales. "Thanks Hinata, I didn't know a new book had come out." He thanked her. Naruto didn't understand the series much but he didn't want to make Hinata sad. It also gave them a topic to talk about.

"Ano, it came out a week ago." Hinata said while she twirled her fingers. That clicked something within Naruto's head. While he was inside the sanctuary of his apartment, many things happened that he didn't know about. "I h-hope you like your p-present Naruto." She stuttered. Hinata didn't notice Naruto's change in expression.

Naruto wore his mask once again and smiled to Hinata. "Thanks Hinata, we'll talk about it after I finish reading it." The jinchuriki thanked her once more. Naruto didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts as Shino came up to him.

"Naruto-san, I once again wish to congratulate you on your day of birth. Before I give you your present, I shall inform you about the status of the golden Hercules beetle that you gave me. The beetle and my kikaichu were able produce a new breed of insect." The Aburame heir said with no change in his voice. Shino held out his index finger and out came a larger kikaichu that had a golden shell. Instantly the women fled from the two boys. Naruto noticed a slight tick mark forming on Shino's head.

"Shino, first off, I told you to call me Naruto. Secondly, isn't it really hard to assimilate with new insects? Thirdly, what does it do? Finally, that's so cool! Glad I was able to help you out Shino." The blond commented. Naruto saw Shino revert back to his stoic state, although he seemed happier now. The blonde wasn't sure if he was right because no one could really tell an Aburame's expressions.

"Yes, you did tell me to call you without honorifics and I will remember it the next time we speak. It is indeed difficult to assimilate with a new species but these are the offspring my own kikaichu. That allowed the process to be easier than normally. I have yet to discover their abilities but regardless, a new species is an exciting event in my clan." Shino answered.

Everyone else had a single thought, '_Of course your clan would get excited about bugs.'_

"This is the present that I wish to give you." Shino grabbed a ring and handed it to Naruto. "This ring is given to the allies of the Aburame Clan. Inside the ring is the pheromone of a female kikaichu that can be released by applying chakra to it. When it is released, insects will surround you and form a cocoon to protect you from harm. While it is not an effective defense, it should be able to survive a single attack." The shade wearing boy explained.

Naruto stared at the ring and Shino wide eyed. The ring was white with an engraving of a black kikaichu on it. "Are you sure you want to give this to me? I mean this is obviously important." The jinchuriki was unsure if he could accept this present.

"Naruto, not only did you help me discover a new species, but you have never once treated me or my clan like freaks. That is more than enough for me to trust you. If you decline, that means you don't deem my clan as worthy allies." Shino said with no emotion.

Naruto frowned at Shino's comment. "Of course I think your clan as worthy allies. I'll gladly accept this ring, thank you Shino." Naruto said as he slipped the ring onto his middle finger on his left hand. Shino nodded as well as his father. Shibi approved of his son's choice and was glad that he was able to find a trustworthy friend. Shibi was present with his normal Jonin outfit, the typical Aburame attire.

Tenten was next to give Naruto his present. "Well I was actually planning to give you something else, but dad told me not to. He says to visit him tomorrow for something I can't tell you." She told him. Naruto was confused by her words but allowed her to continue nonetheless. "Anyway, I got you this book, since I know you're almost finished with level one." Tenten said as she revealed a book titled, 'Fuinjutsu level two: Try not to blow yourself up'.

Naruto was ecstatic about this present since he no longer needed to wait until he was a Genin to borrow a copy from the library. He hugged Tenten tightly as a thank you. This set off a chain of reactions from everyone. Tenten flushed red from being hugged by a boy in public. Hinata was paralyzed and extremely jealous that she wasn't in Tenten's position. Ino's eyes had gained a strange gleam. The younger boys knew Naruto was just being friendly. The adults, on the other hand, were snickering at the two kids.

Naruto pulled back and tilted his head in confusion. Suddenly he remembered something from the Doki Doki series. Girls often blushed when hugged by boys in public or by someone they like. Naruto didn't know which one Tenten was blushing about so he did what boys his age did. He proceeded to blush the color of a ripe tomato. A cough from Shikamaru composed the two 10 year olds. Thanking Tenten once again and promising to visit tomorrow, he turned to the Naras.

"Thank you for allowing my birthday party to be here, Shikaku-san and Yoshino-san." Naruto bowed to the husband and wife. The two Naras were wearing plain black yukatas. Yoshino had argued with her husband to get a more decorative yukata but he was too lazy to choose. The Nara woman had her long brown hair straighten instead of the usual ponytail.

Yoshino ran up to him and pulled him into a motherly hug. "You know you're always welcome here Naru-chan." She teased.

"Yoshino-san, don't call me that, it's embarrassing." He sent the male Naras a look, requesting help. They looked away, whistling as if they didn't know what was going on.

'_Sorry Naruto, she's just too troublesome to deal with.' _The male Naras thought collectively. Shikaku and Shikamaru didn't want to deal with the wrath of the woman. Naruto looked betrayed and he cursed his fate.

"Anyway Shikamaru also brought you a present." Yoshino said as she let him go, much to Naruto's relief.

"I don't have a present to give Naruto." Shikamaru said dryly.

"What do you mean, you didn't get one of your best friends a present?" The Nara matriarch fumed as she pulled Shikamaru by the ear.

"It was too troublesome to get him a present." Shikamaru remarked as he rubbed his sore ear. Naruto frowned that one of his best friends thought it was too troublesome to get him a present. The blonde smiled at Shikamaru nonetheless since Shikamaru's friendship was a good enough gift.

"It's alright Shika, I'll kick your ass in shoji next time!" Naruto proclaimed.

Shikamaru smirked at Naruto. "I can't wait for that day to come." Although Yoshino was mad at her son, she knew nothing could be done about it. The party continued on into the night. Naruto helped clean up and once again thanked the Naras before heading off to the Hokage Tower.

Naruto knocked on the door and was given permission to come in. Inside his grandfather figure was doing paperwork yet again. "Oh happy birthday my boy and it's good to see you again." Hiruzen came and gave Naruto a hug before retreating back to his desk. Naruto sat on a chair in front of the desk and waited for the Sandaime. Hiruzen dismissed the ANBU from their posts and activated the privacy seals. Before the Hokage could speak, a blur from the corner of the room smashed into the bookcase.

By the bookcase was a man with long white hair and a gigantic scroll on his back holding up an ANBU member with a blank mask by the neck. The white haired man was Jiraiya of the Sannin and the author of Naruto's Fuinjutsu books. He had on a green kimono shirt with matching pants. A sleeveless red haori was worn over his shirt. On his forehead was a hitai-ate with the word 'oil' instead of the usual leaf symbol. Jiraiya snapped the ANBU's neck in a quick fashion. "Good thing I was in the room sensei or we would've been spied on." The body was sealed into a scroll of Jiraiya's and given to an ANBU member that had returned when Hiruzen deactivated his privacy seals. After the ANBU left, the Jiraiya activated his own seals. "Just in case sensei. We don't want the stuff we're talking about coming out of this room."

Naruto sat there confused on what was going on. The toad sage then took a seat next to Naruto. "Happy Birthday, Gaki." Jiraiya told Naruto.

"Thanks Jiraiya-sama but do I know you?" Naruto asked, which made Jiraiya laugh in amusement.

"So you know about the great Jiraiya-sama." The Sannin puffed out his chest. "But your questions will be answered soon." Jiraiya said since they had more pressing matters.

The Hokage coughed to get the two's attention. "Naruto, I've been hiding a lot of things from you and I want to make it up to you by telling the truth. I know you have a lot of questions and I'll answer them but don't interrupt me until I've finished talking. What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room, understand?" Hiruzen spoke seriously to get his word across. Naruto nodded in agreement and kept his silence.

Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe before he spoke. "I'm sure you're wondering why the villagers hated you since the day you were born. On the day you were born, the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked Konohagakure. It tore the village apart with ease and was about to release its strongest attack on the village. Luckily, the Yondaime was able to teleport the beast away from the village. In the history books, it says that the Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi. That's not the truth and I was the one who fabricated it. The Kyuubi isn't actually alive, it's simply a ball of chakra or a Biju. Since it isn't alive, it cannot be killed. The Yondaime was forced to seal the beast into a newborn baby in exchanged for his life. The baby he put the Kyuubi in was you Naruto. You're the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko." The Sandaime concluded.

To say that Naruto was stunned, was a massive understatement. His entire core was shell shocked from the news and he could see why the villagers glared at him. _They think I'm the Kyuubi, the same beast that killed all of their loved ones. Are they right? Am I the Kyuubi that terrorized Konoha?'_ His thoughts were interrupted by Jiraiya.

"I've heard that you're learning Fuinjutsu so you should know the difference between a scroll and a kunai." Jiraiya stated. "In this case, you're a jinchuriki and serves as the scroll to the Kyuubi's kunai."

Naruto slowly nodded as he knew the difference but wasn't fully convinced. "What's a jinchuriki and is the seal secure?"

Hiruzen decided to answer his question. "A jinchuriki is a human sacrifice made to hold a Biju. Including you, there are 8 other jinchurikis spread out throughout the entire elemental nations. Of all the seals, yours is the most secure since the Yondaime was a level 10 Fuinjutsu master."

Naruto's eyes widen over the fact that there were others like him. Were they hated and scorned just as he was? "Are all jinchuriki treated this way and why do the villagers attack me if I'm the one keeping the beast contained?" Naruto said calmly but there was a hint of anger in his voice. If the villagers acted this way towards him, then the others probably had the same or worse treatment.

"A jinchuriki's identity is usually kept hidden from the other elemental countries because they're often targeted for kidnap and assassination. The only known jinchurikis are Roshi and Han of Iwagakure, Yagura of Kirigakure, and Kirabi of Kumogakure. Not much is known about Roshi and Han except that they fought in the Third Great Shinobi War. Yagura is the Mizukage of Kirigakure and Kirabi is viewed as a hero in his village because of his actions in the third war." Jiraiya said to assure Naruto that not all jinchuriki were treated badly. He did leave out the fact that Yagura was trying to commit genocide against bloodline users.

Hiruzen decided to answer the second question. "Most villagers and even some ninja don't understand how seals work. As you know, Fuinjutsu is a very complex art that's slowly dying out because not many people can understand it. They cannot fathom how a bunch of lines of ink can possibly hold back a beast such as the Kyuubi. I know I cannot possibly tell you to forgive them after all they've done to you."

"It is okay, Jiji. I can sort of understand why they feel the way they do. They simply fear what they don't understand. Who all knows about my status?" Naruto asked. He was worried that everyone knew about him.

"Only the adults should know about your status as a jinchuriki since some shinobi saw the Yondaime seal the Kyuubi in you. Word was around before I was able to make a law that prohibited anyone to talk about your status, baring execution. The younger generation doesn't know about it." Hiruzen explained and he saw the relief that came to Naruto's face.

"Thank you for finally telling me and trusting me enough with this secret." Naruto stood up and bowed deeply.

Hiruzen stood up and sat on the floor in front of Naruto. He bowed with his head on the floor. "Naruto after everything I've done to you, yet you still thank me. I don't deserve your thanks as I'm a failure as your grandfather." The Sandaime said. Hiruzen felt hands lifting his head and the same hands wrapping around his torso.

"Jiji, don't ever say that! I don't care what anyone else says. You're the best grandfather in the world and I can't be any happier." Naruto reproached. The grandfather and grandson wept in each other arms. Both were feeling relief for different reasons but they were happy to have one another. Jiraiya turned away from the scene to give the two some privacy while also wiping his own manly tears away. What would his fans say if they caught him crying over such a sappy scene?

They finally released each other and went back to their respective seats. Smiles graced the faces of the males. But Hiruzen soon sported a frown. "As you now know Naruto, a lot of responsibility has been placed on your shoulders. I'm confident that you can handle it." The Hokage said with pride evident in his voice.

"Jiji, I know I'm not allowed to tell anyone about this but can I tell Shikamaru and Shino? They're my best friends and I trust them not to tell anyone." Naruto pleaded to his grandfather.

Hiruzen pondered his surrogate grandson's words. The toad sage answered for him. "I think it'll be fine for him to tell them sensei. They don't seem to be the type to judge. If the gaki believes that they're trustworthy, why not believe in his choice of friends?" Jiraiya proposed. The Hokage nodded a yes but told Naruto it had to be somewhere private.

"Thank you Jiji, is there anything else you need from me?" The blonde asked.

Hiruzen nodded. "I have another secret I'm keeping from you Naruto and it's regarding the identity of your parents. I, however, cannot tell you their identities until you reach the rank of Chunin because of certain reasons. Please try to understand that we're doing this for your own good." The Hokage told the blonde.

Naruto had only one thought on his mind. "Did they, my parents, love me?" He asked, hopeful of a good answer.

Hiruzen's smile was one of remembrance. "They loved you more than anything else. You were their treasure and they regret not being here to see you grow up. I know if they were here, they would be really proud of you." The Hokage replied.

Naruto knew that meant they were dead but he still smiled as his parents loved him. "Thank you Jiji. That should be everything, I presume?" Naruto asked but the Hokage pointed to his student.

"I have a present to give you as well, gaki. The present is a godfather, or more specifically, me!" Jiraiya shouted as he struck a pose. "Your parents made me your godfather before you were born." Naruto's eyes widen at Jiraiya's words and quickly narrowed in rage. The young boy got up from his seat and kicked Jiraiya in the gut before following with an uppercut to the chin. Naruto took out his bokken from its seal and applied chakra to it, making it the heaviest he could possibly handle. He dashed and did a side swipe to hit Jiraiya on the side.

Naruto huffed and puffed from the exertion of his actions. "Where were you for the past 9 years!? I had no one that cared about me except for Jiji, Ayame-neesan, Teuchi-san, and Iruka-sensei for 8 years. I was beaten, abused, spitted on, ignored or glared at by the villagers every day of my life. My life finally got better when Mikoto-san and Itachi-nii came into my life last year. Slowly I started to make friends and found people that cared about me. Where were you when I desperately needed someone when Mikoto-san died two weeks ago!? I know I'm just a brat to you but couldn't you have been in my life just for an hour? I understand that you have lots of duties to perform as a Sannin but was it that hard to tell me you existed? I'm sorry but I don't want to see your face anymore today." Naruto ranted all of his frustrations. The boy stormed out the room and slammed the door, leaving a down casted Jiraiya.

Hiruzen watched his student. "Why didn't you dodge his attacks?" The Hokage inquired.

Jiraiya slowly got up from the floor and sat down on the chair once more. "I deserved that beating from him." The toad sage replied softly. His hand moved to his side to soothe the pain.

"Just give him some time to breathe. He doesn't hate you but it'll take him time to open up to you." Hiruzen said, trying to cheer up his student the best he can. "In other news, there's another reason I called you back here besides the fact that it's Naruto's birthday. I want you to bring Tsunade back to Konoha."

"Sensei she left here 17 years ago and I don't think anything is going to bring her back." The white haired man commented. Jiraiya knew that bring back his teammate was an extremely difficult task, if not impossible.

"Tell her that I'll pay her debts with my finances and that I'll allow for a medic-nin program to be made. If she still refuses, she'll be stripped of her rights as a Sannin and will be declared as a missing-nin." Hiruzen responded. "Also, tell her that Naruto is alive." He added nonchalantly.

Jiraiya slammed his hands onto the desk. "Are you trying to get me killed Sarutobi-sensei!? I was already going to get pummeled because of the threat. Now I'm going to be killed, revived, and killed again when I tell her about Naruto. Tsunade was close with Kushina before she left with the village with Shizune. She believes that Naruto died along with his parents. If she found out that we've been hiding him from her, we'll essentially be signing our death sentences." The toad sage shouted. Being on the receiving end of Tsunade's punches for years, Jiraiya knew how deadly the slug princess was.

Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe. "Trust me, I know what will happen but I need her here when I finally take down Danzo."

Jiraiya sat down with that statement. "So you're finally going to kill that old goat. It's about time. I never did like him even though he's helping Konoha in a way."

Hiruzen nodded. "I know that he won't be an easy person to take down so I'll need someone here, in case I fall in battle. That doesn't mean I plan on dying but I'm not in the shape I used to be."

"Alright old man, I'll bring back Tsunade with me back to Konoha even if she's the one dragging my lifeless body through the gates. I hope Naruto talks to me when I come back." The Sannin finished. Jiraiya left the building through the windowsill, leaving Hiruzen all alone.

The Hokage stared at a picture of the Yondaime. "I'll correct my mistakes Minato, even it costs me my life." He glanced at his eternal enemy on his desk. "Although I wished you had told me how to defeat paperwork before you died." Hiruzen groaned as he went back to stamping papers into the night.

***The Next Day***

Naruto was jogging around the town in the early morning hours. He was thinking about the conversation he had with the Hokage and Jiraiya. The Sandaime had finally told him why he was hated by the villagers. The boy felt like a burden was removed from his shoulders, even though it was now in his stomach. Although he was mad at Jiraiya, he needed to be civilized or at least let his godfather explain his reasons the next time he saw him.

Naruto was out of breath by the time he came back to his apartment. Not exercising for two weeks really drained on his stamina. He had only completed one lap around Konoha before retiring. He remembered that Tenten said her father told him to come to the store today. Deciding to tell his friends about the Kyuubi later, Naruto showered and headed towards Higarashi Weapons.

Even though people were only beginning to wake up to start their day, the store was already open. "Good morning, Kajiya-san." Naruto waved to the older man.

"Good morning to you Naruto-kun." Tenten's father greeted in return. "Why are you up this early? Even Tenten and Tera are still in bed." Kajiya asked the now 10 year old.

"I was out training when I remembered that Tenten told me to come see you today." Naruto explained.

"Well give me a minute and I'll go get your gift." The blacksmith responded. As Kajiya went to the back to retrieve Naruto's gift, a sickly man walked into store. The man's brown hair was covered by a blue bandana where his hitai-ate was located. He was wearing blue standard shinobi clothes along with a green flak jacket. The thing that caught Naruto's eye was the dark bags under the man's eyes.

"Excuse me *cough* is Kajiya-san *cough* here?" The sick man asked Naruto.

"Yeah he's in the back, are you ok?" The blonde boy asked as the person coughed again. "Do you need someone to take you to the hospital?" Naruto was honestly worried as the man who looked like he was going to collapse any second.

"No I'm fine, thank you. I have a *cough* problem because I breathed in some toxic gas on a mission. Since it was never fully cured, I was left with a *cough* problem." The shinobi explained.

Kajiya came back with a wakizashi and saw the man. "Good morning Hayate-san, what can I do for you today?" The bald blacksmith asked. The man now known as Hayate replied.

"Good morning Kajiya-san. *cough* I was wondering if you can fix my katana for me. I chipped it during my last mission." Hayate requested. Kajiya nodded while Naruto looked at Hayate.

"Excuse me, do you practice Kenjutsu?" Naruto asked with hope in his words.

Hayate saw that he was being addressed and nodded. "I'm one of the Kenjutsu masters in Konoha, *cough* if I say so myself."

Naruto smiled at finding a potential teacher. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm actually looking for a Kenjutsu teacher." The boy introduced himself.

Hayate smiled as well. "My name is Gekko Hayate and it's nice to see that someone young *cough* is interested in Kenjutsu. I would be interested in teaching you but you don't seem to have a blade." The Kenjutsu user replied. Kajiya interrupted the two.

"Actually he does have one, this one right here." Kajiya said as he held up a black wakizashi. "This wakizashi is yours Naruto-kun. This blade once belonged to Mikoto-san and she wished for me to give it to you on your birthday. I hope you accept it." He gave the blade to Naruto. The jinchuriki was amazed as the sheath was a pure black that seemed to absorb any light that touched it. The handle was black with a small orange Uzumaki swirl on it. There was an odd circle on top of the handle. "I see you've noticed the circle. Go ahead and pull on it." Kajiya commented. Naruto did as told and pulled the circle. When he pulled on it, a small kunai came out of the handle. "That's one of the improvements I've made towards the blade. If you're in a pinch, the kunai should be able to at least surprise your enemies."

Naruto returned the kunai to its place and pulled the blade from its sheath. The wakizashi was a medium length katana. The metal was a pristine white like it was brand new and the blade itself was light. Naruto took a few swings with his new blade. The movements were fluid and effortless like the blade was made for him. "I see you like it. Mikoto-san asked that I make her katana into a wakizashi for you because it suited you more." Kajiya smiled at the little blond. "She also told me to hand this to you, in case, she didn't personally give you the wakizashi." The blacksmith handed the boy a scroll.

The blonde boy placed the blade on the counter as he received the scroll. When he tried to open it, the scroll resisted the force. "I *cough* believe you need to pump chakra in it to open it." Hayate advised when he saw that Naruto was having trouble. The boy did as told and pumped chakra into it. As Hayate explained, the scroll opened.

_Dear Naruto,_

_If you've received this scroll then that means I'm gone from this world. My death must have come unexpected to you. You must have plenty of questions that you want answers to. I'll do my best as your sensei to provide you with those answers. The question you're most likely wondering is why I left a scroll with Kajiya-san in advance. The reason for this is because I knew that I didn't have long to live. For reasons I won't disclose, my death would help maintain peace in Konoha. You might not understand but you'll need to accept it._

_But even though I know I'll die, I'm filled with regret. You once asked me why I was so kind to you. The answer I gave you was a half-lie. While it was true I was kind to you out of my own free will, the real reason was because I was best friends with your mother. The Hokage has requested that I don't reveal her identity because of certain reasons but that won't stop me from describing her to you. She was the most hardheaded and quick tempered person I've ever known. But at the same time, she was also the most loving and friendliest person I've ever met. Her death, along with your father's, impacted me greatly._

_I fell into depression, knowing that a person I loved was gone from the world. I secluded myself from the world outside of the Uchiha Compound. My world brighten it up when a certain someone decided to graffiti the compound. I watched you rigorously clean up and I couldn't help but think that you deserve a reward for your efforts. That was our first meeting and that was when I noticed that you were my best friend's son. I offered to train you in order to atone for all the years I've forsaken you. I expected that we would bond over time._

_What I didn't expect was to see how you were treated by the village. It was as if everyone blamed you for everything that went wrong in their lives. Yet you still turned out to be the sweetest and most forgiving person in the world. I was in awe at how you continued to go on smiling even with all the obstacles placed in your life. The time we spent together was some of the happiest in my life. You brought joy back into my life._

_Still the thing that I'll regret the most is that I'll leave my sons without a mother. Itachi won't show it outwardly but I know he's one of the most caring people in the world. He'll regret every day of his life for not finding a way to prevent my death. Sasuke will be left alone in the world, forced to fend for himself. My baby boy will secluded himself from the world, resenting his own weakness._

_And my last son will think that the world was set against him, when that's the farthest from the truth. He has people that care about him and love him almost as much as I do. Even with my death, they'll help him regain his smile. Even as he reads this scroll, he knows that he isn't alone. That's why Naruto, my son, I want you to continue to smile. I want you to know that I love you with all of my heart._

_My tears refuse to dry as I write this. I wish I could spend more days with my boys. I wish that I had entered your life earlier. I wish I was still alive to watch my three boys grow up to be fine young men. Wishes that I know that won't come true. Still I'm not worried because I know that my sons will do just fine without me. On the oft chance that I'm wrong, Naruto I want you to be there for Itachi and Sasuke. Out of the three of them, you're the strongest one. You'll be able to move on from this and become stronger. While it's selfish of me to place the responsibility on your shoulders but I believe you can do it._

_The wakizashi I've gifted you is your birthday present. It was originally my katana but I believe that a wakizashi would be a better fit for you. Use the wakizashi to accomplish all your dreams. It saddens me that this will be my last present to you. Naruto, please stay strong. Know that I will always love you and that I couldn't ask for a better son._

_Your loving mother, Uchiha Mikoto._

As Naruto finished reading the note, he failed to notice that tears were running down his cheeks. The streams of liquid refused to stop and they began falling onto the scroll. Not wanting to damage the scroll, the boy quickly wiped away his tears. He rolled up the scroll and looked up. Naruto noticed that Hayate and Kajiya was looking away from him, most likely to give him some privacy. Grabbing the blade that Mikoto once used, a sad smile graced his face. _'Even after death, you still watch out for me. I'll treasure this wakizashi and use it to fulfill my dreams. And I promise that I'll be there for Itachi and Sasuke.' _Naruto thought as his resolve strengthened.

"What are you going to name your blade?" Hayate asked as he turned towards the blond.

Naruto looked at Kajiya. "Did this blade have a name?" The boy asked.

Kajiya scratched his beard and pondered. "I don't believe Mikoto-san gave it a name. Either that or she never told me its name. You should name it." The blacksmith suggested.

Naruto looked at the blade and instantly found a worthy name. "This wakizashi will now be called **Jogi no Kotoba (Words of a Ruler) **[2] in honor of Mikoto-san." The boy said. Both males smiled at the name.

"I think that's an excellent name Naruto." Kajiya commented.

"Well it looks like you have a blade now Naruto." A lady with long purple hair commented as she came into the store. The woman was wearing a dark green variety of shinobi clothes. On her arms were black sleeves that reached up near her shoulder. She had white wraps on her left leg as well as her feet. Like Hayate, she also had a green flak jacket.

"Yugao-chan *cough* sorry it took so long, I was in here talking." Hayate apologized to the woman. To Naruto, she seemed oddly familiar like he had seen her before.

Looking at her long purple hair, he instantly recognized her. "Cat-san, is that you?" Naruto asked, remembering the cat ANBU that helped him when he was little. Yugao smiled and nodded her head.

"Naruto that's my name when I'm in my ANBU uniform, my name otherwise is Uzuki Yugao." Yugao introduced herself to Naruto.

Naruto nodded before turning to Hayate. "Hayate-san can you teach me Kenjutsu?" The blonde asked politely.

Hayate thought for a moment as he handed his katana to Kajiya. "Sure but only if you pass my test." The Tokubetsu Jonin replied. "You'll spar with Yugao-chan while showing me your skills. You don't need to win, just show me *cough* that I won't regret training you."

Yugao put a hand on her hip like she was annoyed. "Don't I have a say in this?" The ANBU woman wondered. Hayate promised that he'll make it up to her and she agreed that it'll be a date. The sickly man told Naruto to meet him and Yugao at Training Ground 12. The boy nodded and headed home to prepare his supplies as well as leaving the scroll from Mikoto in a safe place.

Naruto strapped his wakizashi to his waist and headed to Training Ground 12. It was easy to find due to the fact that it was next to Training Ground 11. Unlike Training Ground 11, however, the landscape for Training Ground 12 was slightly different. The only real difference was that 12, stretched into a forest area full of trees. As he arrived, the blond saw Yugao and Hayate waiting. The ANBU woman had a katana strapped to her back.

"Since this is only a spar, there will be no kill shots so try not to kill each other. The spar ends when I say so or when your opponent gives up." Hayate explained the rules of the spar.

Yugao turned to him with a grin on her face. "You could be a proctor for the exams someday." The purple haired woman commented. Hayate didn't respond as he raised his hand. Yugao and Naruto got into their battle stances. Hayate swung his hand down to start the match.

-**Yugao vs Naruto-**

Naruto quickly fled into the woods as soon as the match started. "Damn it, I was hoping that he wouldn't flee into the woods." As an ANBU, Yugao was often tasked with watching over Naruto. After the incident where the blond pranked the ANBU HQ, she was also tasked on capturing him. Like everyone else, she was unable to spot Naruto anywhere in the village after the prank was committed. She had hoped he would fight her head on. Now she either had to chase after him while running through possible traps or wait until he showed himself.

She decided on option third: make him come out. **"****Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique)." **Yugao shot small fireballs from her mouth and aimed it at the trees. Some trees were burnt from the technique but Naruto still didn't appeared. A kunai was thrown from the trees and Yugao easily sidestepped away from it. This time, two shurikens came whirling from her left, making Yugao run forward. Despite this action, the shurikens followed her movements.

'_What, how is it following me?' _The woman mused when she saw an odd glimmer from the sun. _'He's using ninja wire to control the shurikens' path.' _Yugao grabbed her katana and severed the connection. From his hiding spot, Naruto waited for the right opportunity to strike. When Yugao turned her back on Naruto, he pounced. The ANBU woman felt a presence behind her so she drove her left foot into the ground and spun with her right foot in the air. Her foot met a burned piece of wood and the wood shattered under the pressure.

'_He was able to __**Kawarimi**__ just in time but how did he get behind me?' _Her thoughts were interrupted when two shuriken attached with ninja wire came from her right and left. She ran forward only for a kunai to come straight at her face. She tilted her body to the side to avoid the flying projectile. Only her instincts saved her from the next attack. Naruto side swiped with his blade, forcing Yugao to drop to the ground.

The blond swung his blade down but was interfered by Yugao's katana. Yugao, using her superior strength, pushed Naruto's wakizashi back. She pressed her hands on the ground and swung her feet up to her chest. As soon as her knees were over her head, her hands pushed off the ground allowing her body to sail towards Naruto. The boy crossed his arms across his chest when Yugao's kick planted on his arms.

Naruto skidded back from the force of the kicks. He had no time to think as Yugao was already up and pressing him. The purple haired woman swung her katana in a downward arc and Naruto blocked by raising his wakizashi with his right hand. He instantly grabbed the handle with his left hand and pulled out the small kunai. He flicked the kunai at Yugao's chest, forcing her to dodge by bending backwards. He used **Kawarimi **to switch places with the kunai and swung his blade upwards towards Yugao's back.

With cat-like reflexes, Yugao used her blade to hit the top of Naruto's sword. She flipped her body upright instantly and swung her sword's handle at Naruto's right hand. The moved caused Naruto's hand to tense up and he dropped his blade. The next thing he felt was Yugao's katana pressed against his neck. "I give up." Naruto said while raising his hand upwards.

Clapping could be heard from Hayate. "I must say, you're better than I thought." The Kenjutsu user praised.

Yugao put her katana back into his sheath and Naruto did the same. "You almost got me Naruto. That's something even if I'm only going at you with 25% of my full strength."

Naruto jaw dropped at the reveal. "Man, I thought you were going full strength the whole time." The boy commented, sad that she wasn't going all out.

Hayate and Yugao laughed at his disappointment. "Naruto if I was going full strength, you wouldn't have made it to the woods. I'm not an ANBU for nothing." The purple haired woman explained, trying to bring up his spirits.

"Naruto I must say that performance was *cough* impressive. *cough* I would gladly train you in Kenjutsu but I'll admit that you have some weaknesses. Although Yugao is older than you, she was able to outmuscle and outrun you when she wasn't going full speed. I know that it sounds harsh since she's an ANBU but I think we should work on allowing you to go faster at bursts and strength training. Your stamina is good as you don't *cough* seemed fatigued. You're able to make some good plans but it seemed like you were swinging your sword wildly at times. I figured that you don't have a style so I'll *cough* help you find one. Now I want you to explain the battle to me and why you did such things so I can help choose a Kenjutsu style that fits you." Hayate appraised Naruto's performance.

"I usually train at the training grounds next to this one so I'm used to the terrain around here. As you said, I don't have a Kenjutsu style so I planned to attack with long distance attacks. I ran into the woods, hoping Yugao-san would follow me. She didn't and tried to flush me out. I threw a kunai to get to get her to dodge. I then threw two shurikens that I attached with ninja wire and directed her back to her original position. As soon as she saw the wire, I tied the wire to a tree branch. I then used **Kawarimi **with the kunai I threw earlier and used **Henge **to change into a kunai as fast as possible. When she cut the wire, I waited until her back was turned to attack her but she spun around and kicked me. Luckily I was able to use **Kawarimi **with a burnt log. I once again pulled out my ninja wire and shurikens except this time I attached the wire to a tree trunk. I let them loose and they traveled in a circular fashion towards Yugao-san. I threw a kunai, forcing her to dodge. Once again I used **Kawarimi** to get behind her but she dropped to the ground. I resumed my attack but she did this awesome maneuver where she flipped her body up and kicked me. She pressed her attack, which I blocked before pulling out my secret kunai. I threw it at her and she did the crazy matrix thing and dodged. I used **Kawarimi **once more and aimed for her unprotected back but she used her cat reflexes to dodge. Which I can totally see why you're called Cat now. Yugao-san hit my hand and made me drop my wakizashi. That ended the spar." Naruto finished speaking as he ran out of breath.

Hayate and Yugao stood there accessing what they just heard. No Academy student should be able to remember every part of the battle and analyze it, well except for maybe a Nara. They were very impressed with Naruto's intellect both inside and outside of battle. Yugao can see that all those pranks he committed were essentially traps that were harmless. The way he hide and executed his traps were similar to how an ANBU was taught.

Hayate then spoke to Naruto. "I might have a style for you but I'll have to look it up to be sure. Let's say we meet here once a week for training on Mondays." The male Kenjutsu user proposed. Naruto nodded and went to retrieve his supplies that he used during the spar.

Yugao then spoke out loud. "You've really found a diamond in the rough. He's quite impressive for one so young but he seems over reliant on the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**."

Hayate shook his head. "There's a reason why Yugao-chan. After all he was trained by *cough* **Kawarimi no Megami**." He told her. Yugao was shocked on what Hayate revealed. The last person Mikoto helped train was the prodigy Shisui. She then saw why Naruto used that technique so much. He was probably honoring her in his own way.

***Later that Afternoon***

After freshening up, Naruto headed to the Aburame Compound. He arrived at Shino's place and called for the Aburame heir. Once Shino arrived, the blond boy told Shino that he needed to tell him and Shikamaru something important. Shino's eyebrow quirked up but he agreed to come with him. The duo walked to the Nara Compound in silence. They arrived to see Shikamaru and Shikaku playing shogi. They all exchanged greetings with one another. "Shikamaru I need to talk with you about something important and preferably in private." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head.

Both Shikaku's and Shikamaru's eyebrows rose just like Shino's did earlier. '_Does he know about his tenant? Maybe the Hokage told him. Anyway it's too troublesome to get involved.' _Shikaku thought, missing that Shikamaru said they were going to borrow the privacy room.

When the boys were all in the room, Shikamaru activated the privacy seals. "So what do you want to talk about?" The Nara asked his blond friend.

"Well you know how in the books, it says that the Kyuubi was killed by the Yondaime. The truth is that the Kyuubi can't be killed since it's made purely out of chakra. The only way to stop the Kyuubi is by sealing it in a newborn baby. The baby will then become a jinchuriki, a human container of the beast. The Yondaime was able to seal the Kyuubi into a baby at the expense of his own life." Naruto finished as he gulped down his nervousness. He needed to tell them the next part.

"So that baby was you, right?" The lazy Nara guessed. Naruto spun toward Shikamaru and stared wide-eyed. "Judging from your reaction, how the villagers look at you, the graffiti on the walls at your apartment, and how all the adults seem to know something we don't means I'm right. I didn't know the exact reason why but I would've known eventually." Shikamaru shared his logic with the group. Naruto chuckled nervously.

"As expected of you Shika, you really are too smart for your own good sometimes." The jinchuriki commented.

"I, as well, suspected something was going on." Naruto looked to the source of the voice, Shino. "My kikaichu told me that you seemed to have two different chakras. I now know the reason why." The Aburame clarified. Naruto sat there in disbelief, his own friends already sort of knew something about him was different.

"If what you said is true, then you're just the prison keeping the prisoner within you. Is the seal secured?" Shikamaru asked although he inwardly knew the answer.

"Yeah it's the most secure seal out of all of them. The Hokage and Jiraiya of the Sannin told me so." Naruto answered.

"Well if they say so, then we don't have anything to worry about." Shikamaru said while Shino nodded.

"You guys aren't scared of me? You don't believe that I'm the Kyuubi in disguise?" The blonde inquired. Naruto trusted his friends but he needed reassurance.

"Look Naruto you're a very good friend of ours. You're one of the kindest people I know because you always give people a second chance even when they don't deserve it. If you're actually the Kyuubi in disguise, then you're one friendly demon." Shikamaru smirked.

"As I said once before, you don't discriminate against my clan. You openly listen to us talk about insects while also engaging in the conversation as well. You're an ally to us and will always be until you say so." Shino chimed in. Naruto grabbed both of them and gave them a big hug.

"I knew I could trust you guys, thank you so much for accepting me. Oh and you can't tell anyone about this because it's an S-Class secret." Naruto added with a huge smile. Shikamaru just muttered a 'troublesome' while Shino answered with silence.

"Naruto, Shino wait here for a second. I also got something I want to show you." Shikamaru said after he pried himself from Naruto. He then left the room, only to come back with a book and handed it to the blond. Shikamaru then motioned Shino to sit next to Naruto while he sat on the other side.

"When I said I didn't have a present for you, I was only telling you a half-truth. I didn't have your present because it wasn't ready yet." Shikamaru explained. Naruto then opened the book Shikamaru gave him. Inside was a picture of Shikaku, Yoshino, the Yondaime, and a red haired woman. Shikaku was standing next to Yoshino while the Yondaime stood next to the red haired woman. The picture had writing that said 'From: The Red Hot Habanero'.

"I accidently saw this picture in one of my family's old photo albums when I was forced against my will to help clean a few weeks ago. It was tucked in the back so you wouldn't see it if you didn't look carefully. I was curious so I asked my parents about it. They simply took the picture from me and told me not to worry about. That only further intrigue me so I went to the library and I found out her name. Her name was Uzumaki Kushina and I believe that she's your mother." Before Naruto can comment, Shikamaru continued.

"That wasn't even the most surprising thing. It's said that her son was presumed dead along with her. If you look at the picture, your mom and the Yondaime seem close. That's because they actually are close. Uzumaki Kushina's husband was Namikaze Minato, in other words, the Yondaime was your father."

[1] We never find out what Ino's and Chouji's mothers' names were. So I used the name of their voice actors.

[2] Apparently Mikoto means 'words of a ruler' so I thought it was appropriate to name Naruto's wakizashi that.

**Reviews:**

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	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/1/16. Added several details to the chapter.

**A.N.**

Wow, the last chapter received so many reviews! I'm glad that people are reading this story and it makes me happy when I read the reviews. I'm actually four away from reaching 100 followers! Not bad if I say so myself. Regarding Naruto canon jutsus, I'm open to suggestions for replacements. That doesn't mean I would use them since I have a certain direction I want to go with this story.

Regarding guest reviews, if you vote under a guest account, I won't count them. My reason for this is because you could be the same person and I wouldn't know the difference. If you want to vote, please make an account. It's honestly not that hard to make one and you can talk to me via reviews or PMs. Remember that you're able to vote by the poll that's on my profile and by reviews. The voting will end when I post Chapter 6.

Anyways here's Chapter 4 of Master of the Basics!

**Chapter 4: Darkness Be Gone**

Silence engulfed the room as Naruto showed no outward reaction to the shocking revelation. Shikamaru had his head down on the table, waiting for Naruto's words to break the quietness. Shino had initially showed a reaction to the discovery but he schooled his face back to normal. The blond boy stared at the picture so intensely, it was as if he was trying to burn it with his eyes. What was he supposed to say after discovering the fact that his idol was actually his father?

'_This woman is my mother and the Yondaime is my father. Mikoto-san said that my mother had red hair, which this person has. How do I know Shika knows what he's talking about?' _Naruto shook his head free of those thoughts. _'Of course he knows what he's talking about. Why did my dad seal the Kyuubi within me? Did he hate me for some reason? Jiji told me that he loved me but what am I supposed to believe?'_

"…ruto. Naruto. I said Naruto!" The jinchuriki was broke from his stupor and looked towards Shikamaru, who had called his name. "Do you want to talk about it?" The Nara boy asked. Naruto was unsure of what to do. He obviously trusted his friends. The trust had strengthen further when they accepted that he was the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. "I'll go grab some tea, you want some Shino?" Shikamaru got a nod from the kikaichu user and left the room.

Naruto collapsed onto the tatami floor. Many things had occurred in such a short span. The Uchiha Massacre, the Kyuubi secret and now the discovery of his parents' identities. Shikamaru came back a minute later, carrying a tray with three tea cups on it. Each boy took a sip from their cups and instantly relaxed. "Thank you for finding out for me Shikamaru. Hokage-Jiji told me that he would tell me their identities when I became a Chunin. I understand why now since they probably made tons of enemies that would do anything just to kill me but I'm honestly glad that I was able to find out sooner." Naruto's words came out smoothly as a small smile plastered onto his face.

"What do you plan to do with this information Naruto? Would you ask for your inheritance or choose to remain silent?" Shino asked his friend.

"I honestly didn't even think about my inheritance until you mentioned it. I think I'll keep silent because I know I'm not strong enough to handle most of my parents' enemies. To get to me, they would target my closest people. There's no way they're going to attack the Hokage so that means you two." Naruto explained, pointing to his friends.

"Troublesome." The Nara voiced his displeasure. Naruto and Shino laughed at Shikamaru. Instantly the pineapple headed boy and the whiskered boy stared at the other boy in the room.

'_Oh Kami, the world's going to end! Shino openly laughed at something!' _Naruto thought.

Noticing the stares, Shino instantly returned to stoic face and stood up. He glared at them from behind his sunglasses. "That doesn't leave this room…ever. Do you two understand?"

Shikamaru and Naruto caught the subtly threat that hanged in the air. "Well you're right about one thing. No information is going to leave this room." Shikamaru said to ease the tension. They all nodded and left the room as if sensitive information wasn't discussed. Shino returned home for dinner while Naruto was forcibly told to stay for dinner by Yoshino.

***Two months later***

Naruto ducked and weaved through buildings while trying to escape his pursuer. The blonde hid in the shadows and pressed his body up against a wall. Quickly catching his breath, he tried to think of an escape plan but his thought process was interrupted. A kunai grazed his cheek and his assailant was situated directly above him. The boy fled the scene without looking back. He needed to get to the Hokage Tower as that was one of his safe havens. He ran into the crowd and quickly used **Henge **to change into a civilian.

He casually walked, blending in with the villagers. Naruto headed straight towards Training Ground 7, hoping to shake off his enemy by going an alternative route. As he passed the grounds, ninja wire surrounded him and a disguised Naruto was tied up. "Got you gaki." The assailant declared. A devilish smile was on his captor's face as she walked towards him. Her outfit did little to hide her modesty from the world. She wore a scantily attire that consisted of a mesh body suit and an orange skirt. A tan overcoat was worn loosely over her mesh suit. Her purple hair was styled similar to Shikamaru's. "You almost had me, too bad I'm too awesome to fall for your tricks. Your posture was more of a shinobi's than a civilian's."

Naruto cursed his fate as the captor put him over their shoulder and used **Shunshin **to appear in the T&amp;I building. He was dragged into a dimly lit room that was commonly used for torture. The blonde was placed on a chair and across from him sat two pissed off men. "Good job on catching Naruto, he's known to be able to escape from even ANBU." Inoichi congratulated the snake mistress on a job well done. Unlike what he wore to the birthday party, Inoichi wore his Jonin attire.

"Like he can escape from me after what he did." Mitarashi Anko smirked.

"Uzumaki." A deep voice that belonged to Morino Ibiki, got the blonde's attention. The chief of the T&amp;I division's black jacket came into view. His blue bandana covered his scarred head from the world. "What were you thinking when you decided to replace our tools with non-harmful versions?" Ibiki glared at the boy. Naruto had decided to prank the place where criminals were regularly interrogated. It took him an entire week to prepare the tools necessary to accomplish the prank.

"Am I going to be punished?" Naruto asked innocently.

It had been quite some time since he was last punished for his pranks. "As long as you tell me what I want to know, there won't be any punishments." Ibiki said before leaning forward. "If you refuse to answer my questions, I'll make sure I'm the one in charge of your punishment." The scarred man threatened. Naruto immediately nodded, clearly getting the message.

"How were you able to get into this building and replace our tools undetected?" Inoichi asked the question.

"I used **Henge **to change into you Inoichi-san. I then went around talking about Ino with all of your coworkers. Ino told me that's what you usually do at work besides interrogating." The blonde boy replied. Inoichi looked away in shame, avoiding Ibiki's and Anko's gazes. Naruto continued his explanation.

"I left the building after remembering the layout and where the tools were kept. I brought lots of clay and molded the clay to have the exact same weight and shape as your tools. I painted the clay with a silver color and glazed it over to give it a metallic shine. I snuck back in as one of your coworkers who had 'conveniently' gotten sick with a stomach ache that day. I stole your tools and replaced them with my clay ones before leaving. I got caught by this lady a couple of hours later." The jinchuriki explained. "Also, I should remind you that you weren't allowed to take me in since you have no evidence to use against me. If I didn't confess to my prank, then you guys would be explaining to the Hokage why you unlawfully captured and interrogated a civilian." The boy boldly told them.

"Why do you believe we didn't find evidence?" Inoichi asked since it was it true that they didn't find any evidence.

"Easy, you didn't call ANBU to bring me in." Naruto replied with a smirk. The three interrogators had a huge headache thanks to the little blond. No wonder no one attempted to capture him if they were even able to find him.

"Anko untie him so we can get our tools back." Ibiki ordered as he rubbed his temples to soothe the pain of being outsmarted by a 10 year old.

"No need for that, **Nawanuke no Jutsu (Rope Escape Technique)**." Naruto escaped from his bindings and pulled out a scroll. From the scroll, several instruments commonly used by interrogators came out.

"Gaki, you were able to escape this whole time!?" Anko asked, bewildered by the kid in front of her.

"Of course. You aren't the first person who had managed to tie me up. I just wanted to see what it would be like to get interrogated by professionals." Naruto answered while explaining his reason. Inoichi could clearly see that Naruto's thought process was completely different from a normal 10 year old. "Hey, you never did tell me what happened when you used the clay to injure your so called victims."

Anko decided to answer this question. "I was scaring the wits out of this guy and he was just about to spill. I grabbed a senbon, intending to stab him in the knee. Instead of drawing blood, the senbon bent from contact. Both the guy and I stared at each other before we started laughing. He laughed. I laughed. I then knocked him out with a punch to the gut and began hearing that everyone else was having the exact same problem." She recapped what happened earlier today. Naruto busted out laughing at their predicament.

"If there's one thing that we can get out of this, is that we can now psychologically scare our prisoners since they won't be able to tell the difference between the real and fake tools." Ibiki grinned manically for seeing the silver lining in this event. Inoichi and Naruto sweat dropped at Ibiki's happiness.

"Man you guys really know how to scare people." Naruto commented as an idea popped into his head. "Do you think I can help interrogate someone?"

Inoichi was flabbergasted at Naruto's question. "Why do you want to interrogate someone, if I may ask?" The blonde man inquired, not liking the fact that his daughter's friend wanted to interrogate a person.

Naruto smirked before pulling out a scroll that contained the book, 'Shinobi Basics 101'. "This book says that a shinobi must always control their emotions out in the field. If you let your emotions get to you, you're more likely to make mistakes. I figured that if I was able to manipulate my opponent's emotions then I'll have a better chance of winning.

Anko and Ibiki smiled at his logic. The ability to get under someone's skin was quite useful. An enemy could get caught up in your words, actions, or even clothing. That was why Anko dressed so scandalously and teased people. Ibiki had a hardened gaze along with an imposing build that deterred enemies. "Sorry gaki but you have to be a part of the division to actually interrogate someone." Anko replied as she killed Naruto's chances with that.

"Do you happen to have any books or scrolls regarding the subject?" Naruto asked since he wasn't going to interrogate anyone anytime soon.

"I actually think you have the right mindset regarding controlling your emotions but I don't think you should try to manipulate your opponent's emotions. If you accidently misjudge how a person is going to react, then that can mean your death. I have seen people taunt their opponent, only to be dead when their opponent went off in rage." Inoichi reasoned with the fellow blonde.

"What Inoichi says is right. You should spend your time observing your opponent instead. Information is very vital to a shinobi due to the fact that any piece of information can save you from death. Of course, not all information is correct so you'll have to determine which one's real or fake. For example, when you look at me, what kind of fighter do you see?" Ibiki asked Naruto.

"To me, you're mainly a Ninjutsu expert that also excels in Taijutsu." Naruto answered after looking at Ibiki.

Ibiki smirked at the answer. "I'm actually a Genjutsu expert that excels in Ninjutsu." The imposing man replied. Naruto was perplexed because Ibiki didn't seem the type to use Genjutsu. Ibiki saw that Naruto was slightly confused. "That information is false. I simply wanted to see your reaction. I'm really a shinobi that excels in Shurikenjutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu but I'm not an expert in any field." Naruto was dumbfounded that he was tricked so easily. This time, Anko decided to chime into the conversation.

"As Ibiki said, information to a shinobi is very vital. The only way to counter that information is deception. Deception is the key to luring your opponent into a trap and tends to be more effective than taunting. As a prankster, you know about deception since you used a **Henge** to blend into the crowd. You took another route, knowing that I can't stop you if you're at the Hokage Tower." She informed. Naruto realized he was using deception without realizing it and how effective it was.

"So you're saying that if I look weaker, my opponents are bound to underestimate me. Since they underestimate me, it gives me multiple chances to deal a fatal strike." The boy summarized.

"Since you're a gaki, people are bound to underestimate you. Not to mention the fact that you look so freaking innocent." Anko commented as she pulled on Naruto's cheeks. The blonde boy pouted, which made Anko comment on cute he looked.

"Thank you for the lesson Ibiki-san, Inoichi-san, and crazy lady. You helped me learn an important lesson today. Since you helped me, I promise that I won't prank T&amp;I Headquarters again, dattebayo!"

Inoichi and Ibiki sighed in relief while Anko was saddened. "Aw, that means I can't chase you around town anymore." The purple haired woman frowned. "Oh well, I can always go 'play' with the prisoners and my name is Anko, not crazy lady."

Naruto snorted at her. "Fine crazy lady, I'll 'try' not to call you crazy lady." He sarcastically replied. Anko pulled out a kunai, which prompted Naruto to bolt the hell out of there.

"Wait gaki, who told you that you can leave? Come back here!" Anko shouted as she gave chase, leaving the two male interrogators by themselves.

"I feel sorry for Naruto, Anko finally found someone to play with." Inoichi said while Ibiki agreed on the sentiment.

***Three weeks later***

Yugao was heading to Dangoya to meet up with her friends. The ANBU kunoichi was enjoying a rare day off from duty. Usually she would spend it with her boyfriend, Hayate, but he was away on a mission. This lead to her having a rare girls' day with her friends. As she entered the dango shop, her eyes spotted a patch of yellow hair. "Naruto-kun what are you doing here?" She asked the boy that had become like a little brother to her.

It had been almost three months since Naruto came under the tutelage of Hayate. Hayate taught the blonde a version of the **Konoha Ryu (Leaf Style)** that relied on Naruto's stealth ability and mastery of the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**,** Henge no Jutsu**, and **Kakuremino no Jutsu (Cloak of Invisibility Technique). **The original **Konoha Ryu **used distractions and illusions to overwhelm the opponent. Naruto's version attacked the opponent's blind spots from various directions before hiding again. The boy had promptly called his sword style, **Kage Iai Ryu (Shadow Quick Draw Style). **Yugao thought the name was fitting, considering that most of the attacks were those of the quick draw variety.

While Naruto was learning the style rapidly, the sword style had a major flaw. As the objective was to hit and run before the opponent could counterattack, fighting in an open area with no places to hide proved to be a weakness. A straight up fight wasn't ideal for someone of Naruto's skill set. Luckily Hayate had devised a way to avoid such a situation. Her boyfriend worked on his pupil's speed, acceleration, and ability to quickly draw out the wakizashi.

Speed was primarily used to catch up to or flee from the opponent. Acceleration was for when Naruto was ready to attack and needed to close the distance. Drawing out the wakizashi was used when an enemy was able to catch him off guard or to attack swiftly. If he was able to draw his blade fast enough, the blonde would be able to defend or attack.

Yugao would sometimes come by and help with the blonde's training. The ANBU woman told him about her and Hayate's past. She had gotten together with the sickly man due to the fact that she needed to know how to use a sword in order to enlist in ANBU. The Sandaime had recommended Hayate as her instructor. Over time, they got closer and started dating each other.

Since she saw Naruto almost weekly, they developed a sibling relationship. For Yugao, it was easy to see the young jinchuriki as a younger sibling since she was tasked to watch over him when he was little. The same was for Naruto as he also treated her like a big sister. It had gotten to the point where the purple haired woman would scold Hayate for overworking her little brother. Of course Naruto came to his sensei's defense every time since he wanted Hayate to push him harder.

"Hey Yugao-nee." Naruto greeted her. "I'm taking a break from my studies. What are you doing here? Is it another date with Hayate-sensei?" Naruto asked the ANBU woman.

"Yugao, I'm over here." A feminine voice called out to the purple haired woman. The Cat ANBU grabbed her little brother and dragged him to the booth where the voice originated.

"Kurenai, meet my little brother Uzumaki Naruto." Yugao introduced the Chunin to Naruto. The boy tried to escape from his sister's hold as he left his dango behind where he sat. Unfortunately she was stronger than him so he relented. The blonde turned to meet the red eyes of the raven haired woman sitting across from them.

"Hello Uzumaki-san, I'm Yuuhi Kurenai. I'm a friend of Yugao's." Kurenai introduced herself. She wore a unique outfit that seemed to be bandages that had a pattern of thorns on them. Underneath she wore a red mesh blouse with the right sleeve visible. The Genjutsu user wondered why the name Naruto sounded familiar. She also recalled that Yugao didn't have any siblings.

"Nice to meet you, Kurenai-san. You can call me Naruto, if you wish. I don't particularly care about honorifics." The jinchuriki replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll like to go back to eating my food. Which I was doing before someone dragged me away." He looked at Yugao, who seemed amused at his words. As he was about to get up, a certain someone walked into the establishment.

"Hey Kure-chan!" Anko shouted as she spotted Kurenai.

'_Shit, why in the heck is she here?' _Naruto cursed as he began panicking. The snake user walked over to the table.

"Who are you talk–" Anko stopped in the middle of her sentence as soon as she saw her favorite gaki. "I've found you, gaki!" The interrogator woman loudly announced, disturbing the patrons. "You can never escape from the great Anko-sama!"

As Anko was prepared to leap at him, Naruto knew he had to resort to his newest jutsu. "Yugao-nee, this crazy snake lady has been stalking me all over town. Every time I run away, she would throw kunais at me. If one of them managed to nick me, she'll appear behind me and lick my blood." Naruto whimpered out the words as he hugged Yugao. In addition to the kunais, Anko would chase him with snakes as well. This promoted her from crazy lady to crazy snake lady.

"I didn't –" The Tokubetsu Jonin was about to deny the claims when Naruto cut in. The boy activate his newest jutsu,** Koinu no Me no Jutsu (Puppy Eyes Technique). **Turning his gaze up to meet the ANBU woman's eyes, he spoke in a scared voice.

"I'm scared Yugao-nee, can you protect me?" Naruto sniveled, tugging at the woman's heart strings. Yugao melted instantly from her little brother's actions. She placed him behind her and patted his blonde hair as reassurance. An instant later, Yugao's katana was firmly pressed against Anko's neck.

"Anko you have until the count of five to explain why you sexually assaulted my cute little brother." The ANBU woman said as she leaked a small killing intent. Everyone gawked at the Kenjutsu user's words. Even Naruto couldn't believe that Yugao thought he was sexually assaulted by Anko. Somehow in his protective older sister's mind, she had twisted his words. "One." Yugao started the countdown.

"Listen Yugao. First off, I didn't sexually assault gaki here. Second, the reason I was chasing him was because he pranked our department. I was the one tasked to bring him in." Anko explained rapidly. Yugao's blade slackened at her words, much to the relief of the snake user. The blond boy wasn't going to have that so he pressed his advantage once more.

"But Yugao-nee, I already went and apologized for the prank. When I was leaving, she started to chase after me for no reason. Ever since, she's been following me around." Naruto whined to Yugao but he was snickering inwardly.

Anko couldn't believe it. _'The gaki's freaking acting but no one else knows that. You win this round but I'm definitely going to get you back this.'_ The Tokubetsu Jonin thought. Before Yugao can press the fellow purple haired female for answers, the earth underneath them shook furiously. "What in the world was that?" Anko audibly voiced everyone's thoughts. An ANBU came out of nowhere and approached Naruto.

"Uzumaki-san, the Hokage requests your immediate assistance. It's of the upmost importance." The operative told the boy. Worried about his grandfather figure, Naruto dashed out of the restaurant and towards the Hokage Tower.

"So you're on Naruto duty today, Lynx." Yugao spoke to the brown haired ANBU with the lynx mask. "I'm wondering why you're still here when Naruto has already left?" Her eyes narrowed at Lynx, causing him to flinch. The lynx operative used **Shunshin **to flee from her wrath. As the ANBU left, everyone went back to their activities. The purple haired ANBU walked back to the booth where her friends were sitting.

"Why do you have ANBU watching over your little brother?" Kurenai asked as she wondered if Yugao ordered her subordinates to keep watch over Naruto. The Genjutsu mistress wouldn't put it past the ANBU captain considering how protective she was with him in the debacle with Anko earlier.

"It was originally a volunteer duty because of his status." Yugao whispered to the raven haired woman.

Kurenai was confused at Yugao's words when it clicked in her. Naruto was the name of the boy that contained the Kyuubi! "I didn't even recognize him since he wasn't wearing that orange monstrosity." The Chunin confessed. Yugao stuck her tongue out in disgust as she remembered the horrible thing.

"He lost that thing over a year ago. Where have you been?" The ANBU woman inquired. Anko snickered at Yugao's disbelief. The snake lady had just returned after retrieving a plate of dango.

"Don't blame Kure-chan. She has to keep up the persona of 'Ice Queen of Konoha' so she typically ignores everything." Anko explained, her snickering turned into laughter.

Kurenai groaned at the title. "I hate that name. I don't understand why people call me that. I'm a nice person and I don't ignore everything." The Ice Queen denied.

Anko held up three fingers at Kurenai. "One, you've rejected every invitation that asked for a date. Two, you glare at anyone who does anything remotely perverted. Three, you never smile when you're out in the town." The Tokubetsu Jonin put down a finger with every reason.

Kurenai fumed at her reasoning. "It's not my fault that all men are perverts that just want to into my pants. I hate perverts." She retorted. Many men around the elemental nations sneezed at the comment. "Anyway we're getting off track." The Chunin turned to Yugao. "You said that it was a volunteer duty. Does that mean it isn't anymore?" Kurenai wanted to know why a kid had someone watching his every move even if he was 'special'.

Yugao let out a sigh as she explained. "When he was younger, he was constantly pranking people around the village but someone was always able to catch him. That all changed when he threw away his orange jumpsuit and wore shinobi clothing. Ever since then, he has been virtually undetectable and began pulling pranks without ever getting caught. To make matters worse, whenever he pulled a prank, there wouldn't be any evidence left behind. Without evidence, he couldn't be accused of any accusations. The people in ANBU, me included, didn't believe that he was untraceable. We believed that the Chunin and Jonin were getting lax or that everything was just a baseless rumor. That was until he pranked the ANBU Headquarters." She said as the other two women gasped. Kurenai couldn't believe Yugao's story.

"The ANBU Headquarters is supposed to have the tightest defense in all of Konoha. It's impossible to get in and out without someone knowing. Not to mention the fact that other than ANBU, no one knows where it's located." Kurenai stated. Despite several years of service as a Konoha kunoichi, she hadn't the slightest of an idea where ANBU HQ was located.

"It 'was' impossible but Naruto managed to found it. For his prank, he poured itch powder on our ANBU and training clothes. For good measure, he added itch powder to the detergent in case we tried to wash the itch powder out. Our masks were hidden in different areas and when we found the mask, it was usually booby trapped. Some had bright colored paint sprayed all over them with glitter sprinkled in while others had syrup dumped on them and were covered with feathers. When we told Hokage-sama, he simply chuckled at our misfortune. In the end, we were punished for allowing a single civilian to come in and out of headquarters without being detected. Every ANBU was given gate duty for 24 hours without pay. Izumo and Kotetsu were quite happy to be relieved of their duties. After that fiasco, the volunteer duty became a mandatory duty for all members. Despite someone constantly keeping an eye on him, he always seemed to be able to slip away." Yugao finished as she remembered the retched gate duty.

Kurenai was unsure of what to say. "And this kid, that was able to hide from highly trained ANBU, is somehow still an academy student." The Genjutsu mistress questioned.

"He's currently in the bottom four of his graduating class." Yugao told them nonchalantly. This shocked Kurenai and Anko, who almost choked on a piece of dango.

"How's that possible!? I expected him to be near the top of the class." Anko commented after drinking some sake to soothe the pain of almost choking to death.

Yugao smirked at the girls' reactions. "He was actually in the middle of his class before he suddenly plummeted. When I asked him the reason, he told me, 'before you can fool your enemies, you must be able to fool your allies'."

Anko grinned brightly. "I, the great Mitarashi Anko, taught him that deception was vital to a ninja and he obviously took it to heart." She boasted while puffing out her chest proudly, ignoring the fact both Ibiki and Inoichi also advised the boy. Disregarding Anko, Yugao continued to explain why Naruto hadn't graduated yet to Kurenai.

"Naruto has ANBU level stealth, trapping, and possibly espionage skills. His high level of intelligence and creativity makes him a tricky opponent. His stamina or chakra level is that of a low Chunin but I expect him to have Jonin levels when he graduates. Naruto has a great mastery over the **Kawarimi no Jutsu, Henge no Jutsu, Kakuremino no Jutsu, **and **Nawanuke no Jutsu. **He's able to use the last three without hand seals.In addition, he's a level two Fuinjutsu user and will most likely be level three in a few months." Yugao informed.

"Those skills alone makes him, worthy enough to be a Genin. I still don't see why he hasn't graduated early." Kurenai commented but the purple haired ANBU shook her head.

"That's where the praise ends as other physical abilities, besides stamina, are still that of an academy student. Years of nutrition deficiency doesn't correct itself that quickly, even with his 'condition'. His Genjutsu and Taijutsu are non-existent at the moment. Naruto has only recently started Kenjutsu training with Hayate and sometimes me. He also isn't able to perform the **Bunshin no Jutsu**, which is one of the requirements needed to pass the Genin exams." Yugao wrapped up her in-depth analysis of her little brother.

"I felt like I was the Hokage for a moment, with the way you reported Naruto's abilities." Kurenai laughed softly before pondered on something Yugao had said. "Do you think the reason he can't do the **Bunshin no Jutsu **is because of his 'condition'? It only requires a small amount of chakra after all." The Genjutsu mistress wondered.

Yugao sighed in her seat. "Hayate and I deduced that as well when we started training him. We told him there were elemental Bunshin that he can learn but he refused." The Kenjutsu user informed.

This time Anko spoke up, choosing to enjoy her dango rather than converse. "Why did the gaki refuse? If I was him, I would've pounced on the idea of learning elemental Bunshins. Especially if it allows me to avoid failing." The snake user reasoned.

Yugao's expression turned solemn. "The reason is because of a promise with his former teacher. He promised her that he would master lower ranked jutsus before going for higher ranked jutsus. Naruto told me that he would rather use a low ranked jutsu at full power than a high ranked jutsu at half the power." Yugao said, recalling the conversation that she had with Naruto.

Kurenai could see the reasoning behind it but he was doing more harm than good. Anko frowned at the former teacher part since it reminded her of a certain snake. "Who was his former teacher? She must've been someone incredible for him to respect her so much." The Genjutsu mistress inquired.

"It was the late Mikoto-sama." Yugao replied as she began wondering if she had the right to talk about Naruto's past with her friends. Sure they had gotten close in the past few weeks but he told her his past in confidence. Kurenai was shocked and easily saw why the blond persisted with the **Bunshin no Jutsu**. If Naruto gave up, it would be like breaking one of the few bonds he had left of her. The booth was silent even though the rest of the store was loud and rowdy. "Please don't tell this to anyone. I shouldn't have told you without asking Naruto for permission." Yugao pleaded to her friends.

They nodded at the request. "If it helps, why not tell him to make as much **Bunshin **as possible instead of the required three? It should be easier since he won't be limiting the amount of chakra he uses." Kurenai suggested. Yugao nodded and said that she'll tell Naruto the next time she saw him. The three ladies continued to talk about different topics well into the night.

***With Naruto when he left Dangoya***

As Naruto arrived at the Hokage Tower, he was greeted with craters on the floors and walls. The ANBU were on the floor knocked out while the secretary was shriveling behind her chair. He raced past her, hoping his grandfather was safe from whomever that attacked. The boy busted the door open to see Jiraiya and Hiruzen, holding down a blond lady. A black haired lady holding a pig was off to the side, away from the men. "Hokage-sama, are you alright?" Naruto asked even though he could see the situation was under control.

"Oh yes, I'm fine Naruto-kun. Please come in and close the door." The Hokage smiled at Naruto's formal way of addressing him. The blonde boy did as told and watched as the two men slowly got off the blonde woman. Upon release, she gingerly stood up and looked into the direction of Naruto. Her blonde haired was tied loosely into two ponytails while her forehead had a unique diamond-shaped mark. Both her gray kimono and the green haori, which she wore over the kimono, was in a disheveled state as she walked to the fellow blond. Naruto's eyes were drawn to the blue gem necklace around the woman's neck. Looking up at her eyes, he saw a mixture of emotions swirling in them. But the most prominent was that of remembrance.

_'Have I seen this woman before? Only Jiji gives me that look when I visit, like he's seeing someone else in me.' _Narutomused before recalling his parents. _'She must've knew my parents!' _He concluded.

"Naruto, I want you to listen to me." Hiruzen spoke, drawing the boy's attention away from the woman. "The person in front of you is Tsunade of the Sannin and also your godmother. Before you get mad at her, she didn't know that you existed until today. Jiraiya and I hid the truth from her because she wasn't in the right mindset to care for you." Hiruzen explained while nursing the bruises he got from his female student.

"You didn't know I existed?" Naruto asked calmly.

Tsunade shook her head no. "You were presumed dead along with your parents. I figured that you died since my sensei would've told me if you were alive. At least I thought he would've told me." She scoffed out the last sentence. His godmother sat down on the floor in front of him. "Anyways I should introduce myself. My name is Senju Tsunade, one of the three legendary Sannin and the last of the Senju clan. I'm known as the best medic in the world." She said, hoping to give a good impression.

"Hime is also known as 'The Legendary Sucker' as she's the worst gambler in the world." Jiraiya butted in.

"Nobody asked you!" Tsunade rebuked her teammate. Clearing her throat, she turned back to her grandson. "Now tell me a little about yourself."

Naruto sat down on the floor as well. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the village pariah and one of the few Uzumaki in the world. My dreams are to one day become Hokage and to keep all of my promises. In my spare time, I like to pull pranks, train, and read books." Naruto started out softly but grew louder as he finished. A second later, the black haired lady sat down next to them.

"Hello Naruto-kun, my name is Shizune and this here is Tonton." Shizune introduced herself. She was wearing a long blueish-black kimono that was held together by a white sash. Tonton had a dark red jacket and a necklace of pearls.

"Buhi!" Tonton called happily as she stepped to Naruto. The blonde boy petted the pink pig, earning another buhi.

"I hope I didn't interrupt. I wanted to introduce myself since I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice." The black haired medic-nin apologized.

"It's ok Shizune-san. I was wondering who you were." Naruto admitted.

"Please don't call me san, it makes me feel older than I actually am." Shizune sighed as she told the blonde.

"What shall I call you then?" Naruto asked, which made Shizune put a finger to her chin in thought.

"How about Shizune-neechan? I've always wanted a little brother." Shizune remarked.

Naruto's smile increased. "Hai Shizune-neechan, what should I call you godmother?" He said while addressing Tsunade.

"Hmm, how about calling me Tsunade-chan?" She suggested, which made Naruto look at her weird. He remembered reading that she was Jiraiya's teammate.

"Aren't you as old as Jiraiya?" He inquired, adding a tick mark to Tsunade's forehead. "How come you look so pretty?" Naruto asked, unknowingly saving himself from pain.

Tsunade smiled warmly at the younger blonde's question. "What you see is an advance form of **Henge no Jutsu** along with a small Genjutsu." Tsunade explained. Naruto wanted to learn the technique as well but remembered that he had no experience with Genjutsu. Plus he still needed to find a way to perform the **Bunshin no Jutsu**.

"Can't I just call you Tsunade-baachan since it's easier for me?" He questioned. The question earned him a light punch to his head from Tsunade. She nodded, nonetheless, to appease her godson. The three continued to chat, ignoring the two men in the room.

"Looks like we're being ignored sensei." Jiraiya voiced to his sensei.

Hiruzen smiled at the scene in his office. "It's fine, I like seeing them like this." The Sandaime replied. Jiraiya wished that he was a part of the group but he knew that Naruto didn't forgive him yet. "Did you hear his introduction as one of the last Uzumaki?" Hiruzen whispered to his student "Do you think he knows about his heritage?"

"Nah, he probably read about his clan in some history book." Jiraiya presumed, which the Hokage nodded.

"Sorry to interrupt Naruto-kun but can you take Shizune on a tour around the village? It's been quite some time since she's been in the village. I also need to talk to Tsunade about something." Hiruzen asked the young jinchuriki. Naruto noticed that it must've been important so he got up to leave with the black haired medic. He was stopped when Tsunade hugged him.

_'He looks like a mini-Minato but he seems to have the personalities of both his parents.' _Tsunade thought as a few tears developed. She quickly wiped them away. He hugged Tsunade back before waving his goodbyes, leaving with Shizune and Tonton. As soon as they left, Hiruzen ordered an ANBU to take his comrades to the hospital. "I really don't want to talk to you right now sensei. I'm tired and need some rest." Tsunade complained to the Sandaime.

"Tsunade I need you to stay because it's of upmost importance. I wouldn't have called you back like this if it wasn't. I also intend to keep my promise regarding the medical program and your debts. However that talk is for another day." Hiruzen replied, summoning another ANBU. "Summon Dog and Lynx to my office immediately and I want the entryway to be cleaned up." He ordered. The ANBU nodded before leaving to perform his duties. A few seconds later, Dog and Lynx appeared in the room.

"You called Hokage-sama?" The ANBU with gravity bending silver hair asked. Hiruzen nodded to Dog and then to Jiraiya. The toad sage surveyed the room before activating his privacy seals.

"The reason I called all of you is because my spies in Root has informed me that Danzo is meeting with Orochimaru early tomorrow in his underground base." The Sandaime informed. Shock could be seen on Jiraiya's and Tsunade's faces. Dog and Lynx were also surprised at the news but their masks covered their expressions.

"Sensei, do you know why they're meeting up?" Jiraiya asked before curiosity getting the better of him. "More importantly, how were you able to get a spy in Root? Danzo has everybody in his control because of the cursed seal on their tongues. If anyone with the seal tried to reveal Root's secrets or Danzo's involvement, they would die." The toad sage inquired. Jiraiya tried to find a way to negate the seal but the men died before he had the time to study the seal.

Hiruzen chuckled at his student's confusion. "You're correct that a person with the seal cannot say anything but what if someone was capable of transferring his mind into a body without the seal?" The Hokage asked. Sudden realization struck the people in the room.

"Of course! A Yamanaka would be able to divulge the information to you while also being able to spy on Danzo." The seal master said in disbelief. Jiraiya couldn't believe he didn't realize such a simple bypass.

"Regardless, the reason that they're meeting up is unknown at the moment. The reason I called each of you here is because we're to kill Danzo and Orochimaru for treason. I'll handle Danzo while Jiraiya will take on Orochimaru. Lynx, you will lead us to the base and direct us to Danzo. You'll then pair up with Dog to take down any Root members. I would've liked for you to spare them since they're simply following orders but I know that they would come at you with the intent to kill. Retaliate in kind and make sure to flee if you're being overwhelmed. My spies will help when they see the opportunity. Tsunade, you'll stay here and get the hospital ready for us. During that time, you'll also be serving acting Hokage. Should something happen to me, you'll be my successor." Hiruzen explained his plan to the group.

Tsunade wasn't happy with the plan. "Why am I staying behind while you go off to battle? Sensei I'm not a little girl that needs to be protected, I'm one of the Sannin." She said defiantly. Tsunade didn't like the idea of them going in without a medic.

"Tsunade while you're correct in saying you're a Sannin, how long has it been since you actually fought?" Her sensei questioned. "Forget fighting, how long has it been since you've trained? As a medic, you know that senses dull when not actively used. I've been training rigorously for over three months to get back in fighting shape and I know Danzo has always remained in shape even after the war. Orochimaru and Jiraiya constantly hone their bodies during their travels around the elemental nations. Let us not forget that you've developed a fear of blood since the end of the war." The Sandaime said, watching her winch. "As much of a help you can be, you can quickly become a liability the minute you catch sight of blood. You might think I'm being cruel to you but you must face the facts. I want to correct my mistakes while not making any new ones. I'm not going to my death. I still have to see my grandsons become shinobi before I can happily pass away." Hiruzen smiled kindly, which instantly relaxed the people in the room.

"Alright sensei. I understand your reasoning." Tsunade yielded. While she was unhappy, the blond medic understood that she was a potential liability out in the field. "I want you guys to come back safe. As long as you come back, then I'll do whatever it takes to heal you." The medic assured. The men was grateful that the world's best medic was at their service. "Make sure you come back sensei, I don't want to be stuck as Hokage." Tsunade said bitterly. Hiruzen nodded, knowing that she was still haunted by the demons of her past.

"Get your supplies ready and meet up at my estate in exactly one hour. We'll plan out our attack and rest before heading off to Root headquarters." Hiruzen ordered. The men did exactly as told and quickly left to pack their gear. The fight would be extremely difficult even with the element of surprise. Now Hiruzen simply had to wait for the day to end. When the next day arrived, he would make sure to his former rival.

***Next day, Early Morning Hours***

Four figures made their way towards Training Ground 44 or by its more popular name, Forest of Death. Everyone was in their typical battle outfits while Hiruzen had on his old Shinobi outfit. Lynx led them to one of the many entrances into Root. Lynx removed the Genjutsu that covered the ground to reveal a metal latch. Jiraiya checked for any seals while Dog checked for traps. After disabling all they could find, the group made their way into the headquarters and navigated through the tunnels.

They arrived to a clearing where Shimura Danzo stood. "What a surprise to see the Hokage here. How are you on this fair night Hiruzen?" Danzo asked but was frowning that his rival was in his secret base. The Root leader had wrappings covering his right eye and parts of his shaggy black hair. The man had on a white tunic underneath his black robe. _'No wonder the snake left so quickly.'_

"Shimura Danzo, based on reports of child kidnapping and associating with a known traitor, you're hereby sentence to death. This sentence will be effective immediately." The Sandaime cut the chatter as he got into his battle stance.

Suddenly 100 Root ANBU erupted from the shadows and surrounded the intruders. "Deal with the tagalongs. I'll personally deal with Hiruzen." Danzo ordered.

"Jiraiya go after Orochimaru. The rest of you stick to the plan." Hiruzen ordered his men as well. Dog and Lynx dashed back to the entrance to get to another clearing while Jiraiya pursued after Orochimaru. The toad sage vanished before the Root ANBU were able to intervene. The members went after Dog and Lynx, leaving the two war veterans alone.

**-Dog and Lynx vs 100 Root ANBU-**

Dog and Lynx raced back to the entrance and activated the exploding tags that they placed as they fled. Bombs went off and the tunnel collapsed onto itself. Every Root member survived and quickly surrounded the two intruders. "**Mokuton: Ki Eda no Jutsu (Wood Release: Tree Limb Technique).**" Lynx sprouted tree limbs, hoping to capture or impale the Root members.

25 members fired off a specific fire jutsu. "**Katon: Endan (Fire Release: Fireball)**." They shouted together.

The jutsus merged together, forming one huge fireball. The fireball turned the wood into ash and continued to head towards Lynx. "**Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)**." Dog announced as soon as he was near Lynx. Dog's jutsu surrounded the duo and was barely able to withstand the attack. They heard a roar and turned around to see a **Doryuudan (Earth Dragon Projectile) **coming at them. Dog and Lynx was able to successfully dodge the attacks. They were entirely on the defensive and the enemy wasn't letting up.

**Raiton: Jibachi (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)**." The Root ANBU fired. Bolts of electricity came from every direction and neither Konoha ANBU had enough time to form seals for a jutsu.

"**Mushi Kame no Jutsu (Insect Jar Technique).**" A stoic voice called out. Insects surrounded the two Konoha ANBU and protected them from harm. After the technique died down, two young Root members stood next to Dog and Lynx.

"It took you two long enough." Dog said rather lazily, even though he was still surrounded.

"It was rather difficult to apply my rinkaichu while everyone was moving around. However, you were able to buy enough time for me to infect everyone." A boy with the stoic voice replied to Dog. As if puppets with its strings cut, the other members of Root fell to the floor in agony. Many bodies twitched before finally succumbing to the poison.

The young Root members took off their masks to reveal Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune. Torune fell down to one knee from chakra exhaustion. "When the Hokage told us about the spies, I never expected you to be so young." Lynx voiced his opinion.

"When we were asked to join Root by Danzo's request, the Hokage gave us an espionage mission to discreetly spy on Danzo. Our abilities made it easy to access Root's secrets." Fu explained.

Torune stood upright and steadied his breathing. "Even the most secure places, have insects within them. That includes Root Headquarters as well. I am able to talk to other insects which allowed me to spy on Danzo even though I am not a senior member. Fu would then proceed to enter my mind with his clan techniques. When we went on missions, Fu would go into the mind of a random civilian and relay the information to Hokage-sama."

"Good job you two but you have new orders from Hokage-sama. You'll lead me to where the kidnapped kids are located. You'll then flee with them and be treated at the hospital. This was originally Lynx's orders but that changed when we collapsed the tunnel. Lynx, go assist Hokage-sama immediately." Dog relayed his orders. Lynx merged into the ground and quickly disappeared from the others.

"Follow me Dog-san." Fu said and the trio left, leaving behind the bodies of 98 dead Root ANBU.

**-Hiruzen vs Danzo-**

"Hiruzen it seems you've grown a backbone after all these years. I have to ask, what brought about this sudden change?" Danzo spoke calmly.

"I changed when you ordered the Uchiha Massacre despite my wishes. Now enough talk, today I shall bring your life to an end." Hiruzen spat out before throwing five shurikens. "**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." Instantly the five shurikens multiplied to twenty-five and flew towards Danzo.

"**Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)**." Danzo released a current of wind that blasted the shurikens aside.

Hiruzen, hoping to capitalize on the wind jutsu, released a fire jutsu. "**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)**." The stream of fire grew in size due to the wind jutsu. Danzo was barely able to escape to his left but the jutsu was able to burn the bandages on the right side of his face. There, in Danzo's right eye socket, was the Sharingan.

"Danzo how do you have the Sharingan?" The Sandaime asked before drawing his own conclusions.  
"Who did you kill to steal that?" Hiruzen was furious at how low his one-time teammate went in order to obtain power.

"I acquired this eye before the Uchiha Massacre. It was from a powerful shinobi, too bad he escaped before I could take his other eye." Danzo informed nonchalantly. Hiruzen's eyes widen in realization. Shisui's body was never found when he had committed suicide.

"Danzo you scum, what made you this power hungry?" The Hokage said in disgust. "I thought you loved the Leaf, yet you took an eye of one of our shinobi." Hiruzen was sicken by the man.

Danzo laughed at Hiruzen. The laughter soon became manically before ceasing. "I love Konohagakure but I believe we belong at the top. Your pacifist ideals make the other hidden villages look at us as if we're weak. That's why I should be Hokage. Under my direction, Konoha would rise over those pathetic weaklings." Danzo replied.

"That doesn't justify your actions. We're Konoha shinobi who bear the Will of Fire. Our job is to mentor the next generation to someday replace ours, not for them to be used as mindless tools." The Hokage refuted. Hiruzen was beyond disgusting by this human, no this demon.

"Shinobis are tools that are meant to be used by their superiors. What's wrong with me using the tools to make me stronger? If I'm stronger then Konoha is stronger, it's as simple as that." Danzo said as if it was the most obvious thing.

The conversation ended with that as both men went through hand seals. Danzo finished first and released his jutsu. "**Fuuton: Shinkuuha (Wind Release: Vacuum Wave)**." Danzo release arcs of cutting wind at Hiruzen's location.

Hiruzen slammed his foot into the ground. "**Doton: Doryuu Heki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)**." A slab of rock rose in front of the Sandaime. The rock wall was overwhelmed by the wind attack and was sliced to pieces.

This, however, gave Hiruzen enough time to dodge and slam his palm onto the ground. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)**." Out of the smoke came Hiruzen's summon, King Enma. Not to be outdone, Danzo summoned his own summoning animal. A giant Baku rose from the smoke. "Let's go Enma, **Henge: Kongōnyoi** **(Transformation: Adamantine Staff)**." King Enma changed into a black staff and was placed in Hiruzen's hands.

Hiruzen charged and swung his staff at a variety of angles. Danzo was able to dodge due to the Sharingan's abilities. Eventually the Sandaime relentless assault was able to hit Danzo across the neck, making it snap. Danzo turned to smoke and was replaced by a piece of rock from Hiruzen's **Doryuu Heki**. _'He used __**Kawarimi **__at the last possible second to replace himself with a rock. So that means he's currently behind me.'_ The Hokage quickly thought.

Danzo's summoning animal began sucking in the air. Hiruzen was placed between Danzo and his summon. "**Fuuton: Shinkuu Renpa (Wind Release: Vacuum Successive Waves)**." Blades of wind were aimed at Hiruzen.

"Shit!" The Hokage cursed at his predicament but was able to escape thanks to King Enma's quick thinking. The staff grew arms and threw Hiruzen's body into the air. Hiruzen then initiated his own attack. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." Two solid clones appeared midair beside the caster. The first clone began his attack and was followed by the second. "**Suiton: Hahonryu (Water Release: Tearing Torrent)**." "**Raiton: Gian (Lightning Release: False Darkness)**." The first clone released a huge torrent of water from his mouth while the second fired a lightning bolt from his hand at the torrent.

Danzo stopped his attack and tried to dodge when tree limbs restrained him. "**Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique)**." A voice came from underneath the ground. Unable to escape, Danzo met the attack head on. The attack tore Danzo's body into shreds. The two Bunshins and Danzo's Baku puffed out of existence. Just as Hiruzen landed, a kunai pierced through his heart.

There stood an exhausted Danzo, with his Sharingan eye turned white. Just as Danzo smiled at his victory over his rival, he was struck through the chest. A staff had gone through him and the Hiruzen in front of him turned to wood, revealing a **Moku Bunshin (Wood Clone)**. _'Kinoe!' _[1] Danzo thought as he remembered the former Root operative. Hiruzen pulled out the staff and Danzo fell to the ground. His life flickered in his eyes as his body was too weak to move.

There was no monologue or rant on being Hokage. His dream on making Konohagakure stand above the other villages was gone. His quest was ultimately ended by the same man who took the Hokage seat from him. His eyes closed and the life of **Shinobi no Yami (The Darkness of the Shinobi) **was over.

However unknown to everyone, Danzo gave Orochimaru an order using **Kotoamatsukami, **the Uchiha's strongest Genjutsu. The order was to surgically implant Uchihas' eyes along with the Shodai's DNA into Danzo's right arm. But just as the deal was done, Orochimaru fled with the eyes while promising the surgery another time. It was thanks to Hiruzen's intervention that the surgery didn't take place. In the Sandaime Hokage's pursuit to end his rival, he had unknowingly gave his former student more power.

[1] Kinoe was Yamato's name when he was in Root.

**Reviews:**

**Santa1 – **Sorry to hear that you don't like harem. I hope you'll still give this story a try though.

**Dark Neko 4000** – I hope his reaction was to your satisfaction.

**NinjaFang1331 – **Thank you sir! I hope I was able to portray it as such. After all, Mikoto was a big part in his short life.

**Tarantul **– Sorry, you can't vote for Karin. She'll play a different role in this story. You can vote for someone else though.

**emilbootanimefreak – **He won't have the Shadow Clones since it's a B-rank Jutsu. I have an idea how on how to replace it…kind of (elemental clones).

**Sakusha Saelbu **– Thanks for the review, I hope I kept your interest with this chapter.

**skg1991 – **Thanks for the help and I just reedited.

**jhawk046** – Thanks for the review. Glad you think it's that good so far.

**Ryuujin96 –** WOW! Thanks for the super long review. I plan for him to have more skills in Kenjutsu to compensate for the lack of Ninjutsu. Taijutsu is a blank for me at the moment. I'm definitely open to suggestions regarding replacements for any of his canon jutsus. Yes, I intended for Naruto to use elemental clones now instead of Shadow Clones. Summoning Jutsu will appear more in this story since it can help greatly. I'm not sure about the power levels yet because I'm only on Chapter 4 and Naruto still hasn't graduated yet. That will be for the future. About the higher rank jutsus, I'm still trying to find a way for Naruto not to learn them. He's not getting another wakizashi because of something I'm doing with Haku.

**Goodfella96 – **No? Yes? Honestly I don't really know but Madara and Kaguya are a long ways from now unless I do a MASSIVE time skip.

**sparrowhawk13 **– Yeah! Shino and Shikamaru are my favorites of the rookie 9 excluding Naruto. I like to read stories with character progression so I want my story to have it too. Thanks for reading!

**gual1 – **Hope you enjoyed reading his reaction, byes


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/4/16. More details were added.

**A.N.**

I've recently moved to Dallas and it has been a hectic week. Then when I tried to publish this chapter, I couldn't log in to the website. I'll try to release a chapter in 3-5 days but it's not guaranteed a chapter will be released so soon. I changed the rating of this story from a T to M because of language. I'm also taking jutsu suggestions but they can't be overpowered. Just give me a description and I'll see if I can use it. The voting for the harem will be closed in 3 days so vote if you hadn't already. I won't explain how the voting works since I think you should know by now. Here are the results as of this chapter's release:

Tenten Higarashi – 22 votes  
Anko Mitarashi – 13 votes  
Fu – 13 votes  
Kin Tsuchi – 9 votes  
Samui – 9 votes  
Yugito – 9 votes  
Konan – 7 votes  
Hana Inuzuka – 6 votes  
Kurotsuchi – 6 votes  
Mabui – 6 votes  
Mei Terumi – 5 votes  
Karui – 1 vote

As you can see, Tenten is in first place by a wide margin. The only way she's out of the harem is if everyone plots against her. Anko and Fu are tied for second so they're both in if the results stay the same. For the person who voted for Karui, I'm sorry but her chances are pretty much diminished.

I would like to thank everyone because not only did I pass the century mark for follows but also for favorites! This is the longest chapter I've ever written and I hope I was able to keep up the quality. This is my thanks to everyone for reading my story. This chapter also finishes up the introductory before we move on to Konohamaru and Wave. That means Haku would make her long awaited appearance (for me anyway). I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Chapter 5: Reassessment of Fate**

***A month later***

Hiruzen sat in his chair and replayed what had happened in the past month. He was hospitalized for one week as a precaution for minor injuries and chakra exhaustion. The defeat of Danzo caused quite a few of events to occur. Danzo's body was burned after it was announced that he was a traitor. Most didn't believe that such an esteemed elder could be a traitor but when evidence of him collaborating with Orochimaru came into light, there was no protest to the burning.

Jiraiya was unable to track Orochimaru's slippery trail that seemed to disappear into thin air. Unable to find him in the darkness, the toad sage went back and reported to Hiruzen. The Hokage ordered a widespread search of possible tunnels or caves that could lead out of the village. The shinobi were able to find several deserted labs but none of them led outside the village. Jiraiya then left the village, hoping that his spy network would aid him in finding where the snake hid.

Danzo's Root was secretly kept in operation but this time under the guidance of Lynx or Tenzo, who was named Root Commander. All Root shinobis that were loyal to Danzo was met with death for treason. The others surrendered and were admitted into T&amp;I. Documents regarding Root's activities were collected for Hiruzen to review. It was amazing that Danzo had put his plans and dealings on paper. Some of the stuff the man had done was frightening. It clearly showed how much he strayed from the right path.

His involvement with Hanzo the Salamander to quell Amegakure's rebellion forces, in hopes that Hanzo would help him invade Konohagakure so Danzo could be Hokage. He gathered young children to be put in his program. He would even kill the parents if the child had potential to be used as a weapon. Danzo even made children kill each other to get rid of their so called useless emotions. He attempted to kill Shisui to steal his Sharingan but he was only able to steal an eye before Shisui escaped. That explained the real reason why Shisui had committed suicide.

In addition, there was a roster of every Root ANBU. Even the ones that were killed were listed. Hiruzen checked the list and matched it with his own roster of shinobi. The Sandaime wanted to ensure that no Danzo loyal Root ANBU was alive. He skipped the ones that were killed in action as they weren't necessary to check.

Danzo's papers even revealed how the other elders and some civilian council members were persuaded to join his side. This caused Hiruzen to strip those council members of their seats on the council and placed in T&amp;I for questioning. Koharu and Homura were asked to retire because if the villagers knew that the three elders were involved in traitorous actions, the villagers wouldn't trust the higher ups.

The two ex-elders regretfully retired from their posts and Hiruzen was forced to select new elders. He decided on his two loyal students: Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya would only be available for council meetings if it was deemed important. Tsunade was chosen because Hiruzen wanted to groom her to be the next Hokage, not that she knew that. Although he didn't want to remain Hokage, he knew he had to teach Tsunade everything that was needed to become Hokage before he retired.

The younger kids in Root were taken into an orphanage and were adopted by the villagers. Two of the kids requested to live with each other instead of with a guardian. Hiruzen didn't like the idea of having kids live by themselves. He was going to dismiss the request when his surrogate grandson barged in.

***Flashback Begins***

Naruto had barged into the Hokage's office when he heard that the old man was hospitalized. "Jiji, are you ok?" Naruto asked, ignoring the fact that Hiruzen was with company.

"As you can see Naruto-kun, I'm in good health. I wished that you would've knocked because, as you can see, I have company." Hiruzen said while chuckling at his grandson's antics. Naruto looked at the two boys that looked around his age. The one that seemed older had blue hair while the younger one had black hair. Both boys seemed awfully pale.

"Oh sorry about that Jiji, I was just worried about you." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly in embarrassment. The blonde boy sat down on the couch so he wouldn't disturb the two guests while he waited. The two guests, seeing that Naruto wasn't leaving, continued the conversation with the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, can you please allow us to live together?" The blue haired boy asked hopefully. "Sai is like a little brother to me and I don't want us to be separated if one of us gets adopted." The blued haired boy explained. The black haired boy named Sai nodded his head in agreement.

Hiruzen sighed out loud. He honestly didn't want to separate the two boys but living without an adult was hard for children that were still in the Academy. "I'm sorry Shin-kun but it's difficult to live without a caretaker. Finding a place to rent you an apartment would also be quite difficult." The Sandaime informed.

Before the blue haired boy called Shin could respond, Naruto cut into the conversation. "Jiji they could live in my building since no one else lives there besides me." The young jinchuriki commented. The two boys looked at Naruto as if he was the savior to their problems. Naruto began pressing Hiruzen even more. "Plus, they'll have an orphan stipend until they graduate from the Academy, which should be more than enough to live by. I really hope you don't separate family just because they don't have an adult to take care of them. Look at me, I've turned out just fine even with my 'circumstances'." Naruto stressed the word 'circumstances', hoping to guilt trip the old man.

Naruto's plan worked as work as Hiruzen felt remorseful for not taking care of Naruto better. The Hokage took a puff from his pipe before blowing it out. "Fine you'll have your wish." The Sandaime said. The two boys looked at each other and smiled. "But you'll need to pay rent and attend the Academy to become a shinobi." Hiruzen smiled as he thought the conditions were too lenient, but he didn't feel like facing Naruto's wrath.

***Flashback Ends***

It was later reported that Shin had a life threatening medical condition. Normal doctors were unable to pinpoint the reason for his disease and a way to cure it. Luckily, Tsunade wasn't a normal doctor and had seen such a disease in her travels. She was able to successfully cure him and he no longer had to worry about dying from the disease. The medic program that Hiruzen had installed at the hospital not only helped the Academy students but the doctors as well.

The doctors were better equipped to handle more difficult injuries and diseases, thanks to Tsunade's guidance. The students were taught different medical techniques like how to use a first aid kit. Simple things that could help a wounded shinobi were taught. Tsunade refused to teach medical Ninjutsu to the students because it required good chakra control. She also believed that they needed to be at least Genin for them to be worth her time. Hiruzen agreed as chakra control was something their Jonin sensei was supposed to teach them.

Hiruzen spun his chair around to face the picture of Minato. "I hope I'm doing you proud Minato. I'm slowly but surely fixing my mistakes. Hopefully I can take care of my greatest mistake before I pass on." The evening sun shined on Hiruzen's rock face on the Hokage Monument. Hiruzen smiled as if Minato had asked the heavens to give Hiruzen an answer.

***Two Years Later***

Naruto sat on the swing as he watched students walk out of the Academy to their parents with their hitai-ate. Of course, Naruto didn't receive his hitai-ate like the others. After all, he was taking the Genin exams next year. The blonde was actually waiting for Shin and Tenten to come out. Sai, wearing all black shinobi clothing, was sitting next to him on his own swing. He had gotten close to his neighbors and they were like a family. Shin was the oldest, Naruto in the middle, and Sai the youngest.

When they had first met, Shin was like Naruto in some ways. Both were hyperactive and loud but Shin was more absent-minded than Naruto was. Shin would sometimes stumble into things because he would be thinking about other stuff. Sai was the reserved one of the trio. He preferred to draw or read books. He and Naruto shared a common interest when it came to books. Sai was very impressionable, due to the fact that he would take anything a book would say as advice.

He had once read a book on nicknames, which stated that giving people nicknames was a sign of friendship. That next day, Sai gave everyone in class a nickname based on their appearances and personality. Naruto had to stop Sai's frankness because he kept saying mean things unintentionally. The blonde had to give his younger brother a book on manners to stop him. Sai apologized but the damage was already done. Now everyone saw Sasuke's hair as a duck's butt. Strangely enough, Sasuke's fan club seemed to increase after the incident.

Sakura now took out her wrath out on Sai, instead of Naruto, after Sai had called her 'howler monkey'. Only Sai would dodge her attempts and the pinkette would hit whatever was near Sai instead. She was scolded by Iruka after she broke too many chairs. Naruto's affections for the pink haired girl had decreased due to the fact that he was constantly training. Most of his time was used to hone his skills or to pull pranks. After a while, he no longer saw Sakura as anything more than a classmate.

He attributed his liking of Sakura to the fact that he thought of Sasuke as a rival. The blonde still considered Sasuke as a rival but he didn't vocally voice it. He tried to befriend the raven haired boy like he promised Mikoto. Despite multiple attempts to strike up a conversation, Sasuke would only reply with grunts. The jinchuriki really wanted to be friends with the Uchiha since they both understood what it was like to lose a family. Mikoto and Itachi were as much of a family for Naruto as they were for Sasuke. He eventually gave the raven haired boy space after Sasuke said that he refused to associate with a loser like Naruto.

While dishearten by the Uchiha's comment, Naruto didn't mind as he had a group of friends. Shikamaru would invite him, and by extension Shin and Sai, to dinner at Nara Compound. Yoshino quickly warmed up to the two boys and constantly doted on them like she did with Naruto. At first, they loved the attention since neither had a mother. But before long they understood that Yoshino's affection was… troublesome.

Naruto was now able to beat Shikamaru in shogi but still lost four out of five times. Shin was too impatient for the game while Sai preferred to draw. The blonde felt confident enough to challenge Shikaku, only to be beaten to the ground in a few moves. The Nara heir smirked as he knew his dad was a difficult opponent. Ino and Chouji would often come over to play as well.

Chouji was quick to open up to Shin and Sai after he saw that Shikamaru had done the same. Naruto's and Chouji's eating contests were constantly going back and forth with the Akimichi currently in the lead. Naruto started to train with the big boned boy at Shikamaru's request. The Nara heir figured that this generation of Ino-Shika-Cho would likely be placed on the same team. Shikamaru wanted the plump boy to get stronger so that he could do less work. The jinchuriki knew that Shikamaru just wanted to make sure Chouji could handle himself in a fight.

Ino, on the other hand, didn't like Sai at all. After Sai had called her 'blond howler monkey', she was displeased that she was compared to Sakura. The two girls would constantly fight or scream at Sai, much to the annoyance of the class. The pale boy ignored them while smirking, making Naruto swear his little brother was sadistic. Ino were on much friendlier terms with Naruto and Shin. She was still the co-president of the ever growing Sasuke fan club though.

Hinata had become more outgoing and she stuttered less. The Hyuuga female started to gain confidence from sparing with Naruto. The blonde finally asked why she constantly stalked him every day. She fainted on the spot as Sai came to get Naruto for dinner. She was nicknamed 'closet pervert' courtesy of Sai after the event. Naruto, hoping to not hurt her feelings, told her they were just friends and that he didn't plan on being in a relationship anytime soon. Hinata was dishearten but settled with being a friend. The Hyuuga heiress hoped to get stronger to impress both her father and Naruto.

Kiba and Akamaru was a strange case of friendship for the blond. Akamaru would actively greet Naruto and his friends and was rather close to Naruto. Kiba, on the other hand, refused to associate with jinchuriki for some reason. He later found out from Ino that Kiba had a crush on Hinata but she only paid attention to Naruto. Kiba apparently wanted to be friends with Naruto but his pride got in the way most of the time.

Shino was Naruto's best friend of the entire group. Although he was great friends with Shikamaru, the Aburame boy understood him better. They were both disliked by most of the populace because of what they carried. Naruto was scorned because of the Kyuubi while Shino was stared at with disgust because he carried kikaichu in his body. The blond would often visit the Aburame Compound and was generally accepted by the clan. Naruto even met Shino's childhood friend Torune, who had recently came back from a long term mission.

Tenten was Naruto's best female friend. They constantly spar and train together. Naruto taught her Fuinjutsu to incorporate with her fighting style while Tenten worked with Naruto on his Kenjutsu. She quickly became friends with Yugao after she found that the ANBU woman also loved weapons, although it was only swords. Tenten was ecstatic to meet her idol, Tsunade, but was extremely disappointed when she met the drunkard. From that point on, Tenten only admired Tsunade's beauty and skills as a kunoichi.

Naruto wanted to tell her about the Kyuubi but was afraid how she would react. She was his first true friend and he trusted Tenten. But unlike with Shino and Shikamaru, Tenten was directly affected by the actions of the Kyuubi. He didn't know until the brunette told him about her past. The Kyuubi had killed her parents, leaving her an orphan. Kajiya and Tera had adopted the girl afterwards. Naruto was scared that he would lose her when he revealed the truth.

Meanwhile Naruto's skills were progressing at a nice pace. He had finally succeeded in using the **Bunshin no Jutsu** after receiving Yugao's advice. He made 70 clones, instead of the required 3, and they didn't come out deformed. The blond boy was able to use his other jutsus without hand signs after his older sister had pointed it out to him. Yugao told him about chakra memory, which was similar to muscle memory.

After using one jutsu multiple times, the body was able to remember how much chakra was needed to activate the jutsu. Hand signs were a way to make the body learn the jutsu faster and to stabilize the jutsu. Generally only E and some D rank jutsu were used without hand signs since other jutsus packed more power. Naruto asked Yugao if it was possible to do one handed signs. Yugao nodded but stated that one must possess amazing chakra control. If the person had lousy control, the jutsu would fail to appear.

Naruto had then began working on the leaf concentration exercise to increase his chakra control. Initially he loathe doing leaf concentration since it reminded of him of the time that Iruka made him do it as punishment. Eventually, the blond was able to hold three leaves on his body for six hours. To make the exercise more difficult, he would run while applying chakra to make the leaves stick to him. He had asked Hayate for a more advanced chakra control exercise but his Kenjutsu sensei said that those exercises were only available to those who were Genin and above.

Hayate was cured of his coughing problem thanks to Tsunade's medical expertise. It was weird for a while for Naruto and other shinobi to not hear the man cough. Yugao became even more infatuated with his sensei and at one point, he didn't see them for an entire week. Naruto's training in **Kage Iai Ryu **was progressing thanks to the help of Hayate and Shizune. Shizune taught him human anatomy and where the pressure points were located.

Using that knowledge, Hayate instructed Naruto on how to strike those areas. Thanks to his constant training, Naruto's physical abilities was now comparable to most of his classmates. He had now possessed high Chunin stamina. His strength was near the lower half of his classmates as his skill set didn't rely on strength. He wasn't exactly sure where he stacked up against his classmates since he never went all out.

He did know that he was weaker than Shin and slightly stronger than Sai when going at full strength. The three boys often sparred without holding back. They told him about the old Root program and Naruto remembered that he was also recruited by Danzo when he was younger. They were instructed by Hiruzen to not garner too much attention since their skills were that of a high Genin.

When Naruto was ready for level 3 in Fuinjutsu training, he sought out Jiraiya for training. The Hokage told him that the toad sage had left on an important mission. Naruto sighed and wished he had talked to Jiraiya earlier even if his godfather was a pervert and an ass that left him for 8 years. After all, his father and mother made him his godfather. He must've been important to at least one of them.

Naruto hoped that his Jonin sensei would be able to teach him Taijutsu, maybe even Genjutsu if his chakra control got better. Just as Naruto finished musing, Shin and Tenten walked out of the building. Shin was wearing all black ANBU clothing from top to bottom. Naruto had suggested outfit changes for both Sai and Shin but they refused. They were used to wearing ANBU clothing because of their time in Root. Shin's hitai-ate was wrapped tightly on his left bicep.

Tenten wore a pink qipao blouse as her top and dark green pants as her bottom. Her hitai-ate was tied to her forehead with the cloth being a darker shade of blue than her shinobi sandals. The quartet quickly left and went to Tenten's house for a celebration for the two new Konoha ninja. Tenten hoped she had a cool sensei and team. Naruto already knew that Shin enlisted in the new Root program since he had many comrades there.

The requirement for joining the Root program was unknown since it technically didn't exist. Shin was allowed because he was a part of the old program. The new Root ninjas were trained in espionage and were usually on missions outside the village. This allowed the ANBU to concentrate their forces inside the village. Root ANBU even served as backup members on difficult missions or when a squad requested reinforcements. The program was only known to Chunin level and higher shinobi. It was kept from public knowledge to ensure that there wouldn't be any backlash.

Sai had wanted join at the same time as Shin but the oldest brother urged him to spend more time with his friends. Sai nodded, promising to join after he graduated. Naruto preferred not to join because he wanted to be Hokage. Since Root mainly worked in the shadows, his mission records wouldn't be publicly known. There was no way the villagers would accept him as Hokage if they didn't know of his accomplishments. Plus he doubted that would enjoy staying away from the village, where most of his friends were.

The families of the new graduates celebrated as their kids had joined the ranks of Konohagakure shinobi. In another year, Naruto would also be a Genin.

***Ten Months Later***

Naruto was jogging around the village in the early morning hours when he spotted two silhouettes from a distance. As he got closer, he saw two males walking on their hands. It was hard to miss them due to the fact their outfit was green spandex. The only redeeming feature of the outfit was the orange leg warmers, at least according to Naruto. "Look Lee, someone else is exercising on this youthful morning." The older man beamed to his disciple.

"Yosh, Gai-sensei! This person is worthy in becoming my rival." The younger version proclaimed to his sensei. Lee jumped from his position and landed in front of Naruto, stopping the blond from moving forward. "Hello my name is Rock Lee, may I have your name?" Lee asked while he held out his hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you Lee but I need to finish my jog." Naruto shook Lee's hand, hoping to flee from the green spandex boy. Lee's bushy eyebrows were sending chills down his spine.

However, Gai stopped the blond by placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Ah, you must be young Naruto, whom our Tenten talks about. It seems that you're a very hard worker just like she told us." Gai commented.

Before Naruto said another word, Tenten came running up to the group. "Gai-sensei you're late for the team meeting, what are you doing?" Tenten asked when she spotted Naruto. "Naruto what are you doing here?" The brunette wondered.

Naruto answered with his own question. "These two are a part of your team?" He said, pointing to Guy and Lee before continuing. "I thought you said that your sensei and teammates were super cool?"

Gai and Lee smiled brightly, causing Naruto's eyes to flinch in pain. "Did you hear that Lee? Our youthful Tenten told her friend that we're cool. I'm one step closer to beating my rival Kakashi in coolness now." Gai shouted out.

"Hai Gai-sensei! I think that Tenten was embarrassed by our coolness so she only told her friends." Lee added on.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

This image of two males in green spandex hugging each other with tears falling from their eyes was horrifying. Naruto had lucky closed his eyes because the **Sunset Genjutsu** soon came into effect. The early morning goers that saw the scene passed out with foam coming out of their mouth. Tenten simply cringed because she had seen the image many times, too many by her count. "Naruto I hope you understand why I lied to you." She whispered.

Naruto nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. His eyes were full of pity and sadness for his friend. "Tenten I'm sorry, I don't know how you can deal with them." Naruto replied, trying to console her while giving her a reassuring smile.

Gai ended the Genjutsu with Lee and turned to the Naruto. "Young Naruto-kun how would you like to train with us today?" Gai asked the blond. The jinchuriki winced at the idea, not wanting to spend any more time with the spandex duo.

"Even though he's weird, Gai-sensei is the best Taijutsu user in Konoha." Tenten told him.

"Sure." The blonde replied, changing his mind. "I was hoping someone could help me with my Taijutsu, as it's one of my weak areas." Naruto added. The quartet headed towards Training Ground 9 where a long black haired boy stood. The training ground was like Training Ground 11, except that it had dummies and was littered with weapons. _'I keep telling Tenten to pick up her weapons after she's done with them but she never listens.' _Naruto thought in his head.

"Guy-sensei I wish you would inform me and Tenten if you're going to be late." The boy said to Guy, annoyance evident in his tone. Naruto noticed that the boy oddly resembled Hinata. Most likely a Hyuuga, the boy wore a khaki shirt and dark brown shorts. Bandages were wrapped around his right arm and right leg. The blue shinobi sandals completed the outfit.

"That was unyouthful of me Neji; I'll be here on time from now on. IF I'M NOT, I'LL RUN A THOUSAND LAPS AROUND KONOHA ON MY HANDS!" Gai announced, much to the disdain of the people nearby.

"Anyways, are we going to train?" Neji inquired. "I have clan matters I must attend to." The black haired boy said even though he had no such thing. It was the only possible way to escape the spandex duo. He finally noticed the blonde standing next to Tenten. "What's he doing here?"

Gai smiled at Neji's question. "This here is Naruto-kun, a friend of Tenten's and an equally youthful person. Naruto-kun this is my other student, Hyuuga Neji." Gai introduced the two.

"Hello my name's Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you." Naruto greeted.

Neji frowned and had a look of distaste. "I see. You're the boy that is friends with Hinata-sama." The Hyuuga male remembered. Naruto smiled but Neji continued. "No wonder. Trash tends to stick together. After all, fate dictates that they'll never amount to anything." Neji said, causing Naruto to fume.

"Hey, I don't care what you call me but DON'T call my friends trash!" The jinchuriki roared.

"I have every right to call you whatever I please. Fate separates the winners from the losers. You're fortunate that a talented kunoichi like Tenten is even friends with you. A loser can only lick the ground of where the winner stands." Neji finished his monologue. Tenten was furious at her teammate for downing her best friend. She was about to tell him off but Lee intervened.

"Neji, in your eyes a loser will always be a loser but with hard work anything can change." Lee advised.

Neji smirked at the spandex boy. "Lee, you were the dead last of our graduating class and you aren't able to mold chakra yet you still persisted on being a shinobi. I'll admit that I no longer see you as trash as your skills has grown since training with Gai-sensei." Neji admitted, causing Lee to smile at the acknowledgment. Neji would once again down his spirits. "You're now the ground under my feet instead of the trash that rolls around."

Naruto was mad, no he was infuriated! "Gai-sensei, can I spar with your student?" The blonde requested as he desperately tried to control himself. Naruto's mind was raging to thrash the disgusting human being in front of him.

Tenten put a hand on his shoulder. "You might be good for an Academy student Naruto, but Neji was the Rookie of the Year. He's arguably the best of our generation." She warned.

Naruto shrugged the hand off his shoulder and looked at Tenten, dead in the eye. "Tenten, titles like Rookie of the Year don't matter out in the battlefield. I may be weak but I'm not as weak as you think." The blonde refuted.

Naruto turned away from her and stood opposite of Neji. Tenten was stunned by Naruto's words. She always sparred with him so she knew how strong he was. Why didn't he understand that she was trying to protect him? Gai approached the two boys and stood in the middle. "Naruto-kun I thank you for being civilized and requesting a spar against my student instead of outright attacking him." Gai bowed in gratitude before standing back up. "This is a spar so they'll be no killing blows. The spar ends when I say so or when your opponent surrenders." Gai explained the rules of the spar.

"This is your last chance to surrender before I pummel you into the ground. Fate dictates that I'll emerge victorious." Neji smirked before getting into his Juken stance. The jinchuriki chose not to comment and simply looked at Neji impassively. The outgoing Naruto was replaced as his serious side kicked in. Naruto was analyzing the male Hyuuga like a book, trying to find a weakness to exploit. After deciding on a plan of attack, he unsealed his wakizashi from its scroll.

Lee waited with anticipation for the spar to start even though he was still feeling down from Neji's comments. Tenten sighed in defeat and just hoped the two wouldn't hurt each other too much. Gai raised his hand up and after a tense moment dropped it.

**-Naruto vs Neji-**

Neji and Naruto both stood there, waiting for the other to attack. Neji was obviously not taking this seriously as he didn't even activate his Byakugan. Naruto decided to take the initiative and try to capitalize on the fact that he was being underestimated. **"Bushin no Jutsu**." In an instant, hundreds of Narutos filled the training area.

"Such a useless technique when faced with '**Byakugan'**." Neji activated his Doujutsu and scanned the area. However he was unable to find the real Naruto among the crowd. "Hmph, he ran away as soon as he had the chance." The Hyuuga concluded. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Neji, with his back to the Hyuuga. The only person that saw what had happened was Gai. After making the numerous bunshins, Naruto used **Kawarimi no Jutsu **to replace himself with one of the abundant shuriken on the ground. The shuriken the blonde chose to replace himself with was more than 50 feet away. Gai concluded that Naruto had experience with fighting the Byakugan to know some of its limits. Naruto had then applied chakra to his feet and sprinted across to attack Neji.

To knock Gai out of his thoughts, Naruto slid his wakizashi back into its sheath. "**Kage Iai Ryu: Mikadzuki (Shadow Quick Draw Style: Crescent Moon)**." The jinchuriki whispered out. When the blade was fully in the sheath, blood sprayed all over Neji's back. A crescent strike was etched into his back and red liquid was dripping out of the wound. "You shouldn't have underestimated me. If we were allowed killing blows, you would be dead right now." Naruto said with no outward emotion.

Tenten had never seen her friend like this before. Every time they had sparred, there was always a smile on his face. _'Is this how strong he really is__?' _Tenten thought while observing the spar.

Neji panted before gathering his breath. "So even a loser can injure me, I'll make sure you'll never hit me again." The Hyuuga arrogantly commented even though his back was dripping blood. Naruto put his hand up to activate a seal. Neji saw this and noticed that there was a paper seal on his back thanks to Byakugan.

"Looks like you've noticed my seal on your back." Naruto said as he smiled at Neji. "Too bad you noticed it too late. You lose Neji." Naruto activated the seal and light surrounded Neji. The male Hyuuga was blinded by the sudden light, forcing him to deactivate his Doujutsu. "**Kage Iai Ryu: Tsubame no Mure (Shadow Quick Draw Style: Swarm of Swallows)**." Naruto rapidly slashed Neji's body countless of times. When the light dissipated, Naruto was slowly sheathing his blade while Neji stood there frozen. As soon as the wakizashi returned into its scabbard, red liquid splattered into the air.

Naruto bent down to face Neji, who had fallen to the ground. "This so called trash just defeated you. If what you said was true, then what are you now that you lost to trash? Your so called fate didn't help you win even though you said it would. You said that fate dictates life, then why not change it? You didn't try to change it because you're a coward. You took the coward's way out and wallowed in self-pity and arrogance." The blonde said. Naruto got up and apologize to Guy for hurting his student before leaving the training ground.

Neji laid there with his face on the ground, thinking about Naruto's words. Gai sat down next to his defeated student. "Neji everyone here believed that you were strong, much stronger than Naruto-kun." Gai comforted the Hyuuga. "The only one who didn't believe that was Naruto-kun. He was able to beat you because you were arrogant and underestimated him. I hope you learned an important lesson today and think about the words that he told you." Gai said in a serious tone, unlike his usual exuberate self.

'_Is it possible to change fate? He was obviously weaker than me yet he was able to win. I may not know if fate could be changed but I'll at least try from now on.' _Neji thought as he reached a self-realization. "Hai Gai-sensei." Neji said with a rare smile on his face.

"Yosh! I'll also make Naruto-kun my eternal rival." Lee shouted at the top of his lungs. The spandex duo then carried Neji to the hospital but not before telling the stunned Tenten that she had the rest of the day off. Gai also told her to tell Naruto that he was welcome to join in their training.

Tenten nodded before running off to catch up to her best friend. The weapon mistress didn't need to run far as Naruto soon came into view. "Naruto, wait a minute." The brunette shouted as she grabbed Naruto by the arm, stopping him from going any farther.

Naruto's eyebrows arched up in confusion. "What's up Tenten?" Naruto asked his friend.

"What was all of that Naruto? I've never seen you move like that before." Tenten asked since every time they had sparred, Naruto never displayed such skills.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't want to attack the stick up the ass (Neji) like that." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "He made me so mad for insulting my friends. I don't care if he talks about me, I'm used to it. But when he talks about my friends, it's a different story. So I wanted to pummel him and make him regret it. Those attacks are mainly used to severely injure or kill my opponent. I would never use it against you." The blonde admitted to his friend.

Tenten sighed for the second time today and came up to Naruto. _'Why is he always so selfless? He never thinks about himself. It's an admirable trait yet why does it feel so sad?' _Tenten thought as she wrapped her arms around Naruto. Naruto was surprised by the action but he hugged her back. They stood there together for a brief moment until a booming voice rang throughout the village.

"Look Gai-sensei! I told you Tenten embraced your teachings of youth!" Lee shouted from a hospital window.

"Yes!" Gai replied. "You're right my student, youthful Tenten is just too shy to show it." Gai then flashed a nice guy pose towards Tenten and Naruto. Lee followed the action and his teeth twinkled. The blonde and brunette blushed and quickly separated from each other. A nurse came by and told them to leave since they were disturbing the patients. Naruto and Tenten laughed as the nurse chased Guy and Lee with a clipboard, ready to strike.

***Graduation Day, two months later***

Naruto sat there anxiously as the rest of the class came into the room. Some were nervous while others just wanted to get the exams over with. Naruto waited his turn for the Ninjutsu part of the exam. The boy answered enough questions on the written part to pass. He was able to pass the throwing test with ease. In the Taijutsu portion, Mizuki went up against Naruto. The blond was able to win using a style that Gai taught him.

Gai taught Naruto as promised and after seeing Naruto's horrible Taijutsu, was motivated even further. The blonde's Taijutsu was called **Suifuto Tsubame (Swift Swallow)**. It was an original style inspired by Naruto's **Tsubame no Mure **attack. It was an evasive style that used Naruto's instincts and limber body to dodge attacks. The blonde would dodge or parry before attacking different areas of the body. The style fitted the jinchuriki to the tee since he knew the pressure points of the human body.

It was thanks to Neji, however, that the style had come to form. After being discharged from the hospital, the Hyuuga wasn't as pessimistic nor did he belittle others like before. While he was still serious, Neji smiled more. When Gai asked Neji for advice, Naruto was sure that the Hyuuga male would refuse since the Juken was a clan technique. Instead, Neji instructed the blonde on how the Juken worked and in return, Naruto would spar with Neji. The Hyuuga teen wanted to see how the Juken stacked against a style similar to it.

Naruto constantly had his tenketsu points closed since Neji never went easy. Eventually Naruto was able to parry Neji's attacks but still couldn't land a hit. The new style would take time to perfect since it was new. Neji acknowledged that Naruto might one day be an equal to him and Lee in Taijutsu. When the blonde used the **Suifuto Tsubame **against Mizuki, it was the first time that he had ever landed a hit. This resulted in him sending Mizuki to the floor in pain.

Mizuki was escorted to the hospital as everyone looked on in shock. Sasuke was seething with jealously and demanded Naruto to teach him that style. Naruto refused since it was his own and he wanted to perfect it before teaching anybody. Sasuke didn't say anything as Naruto didn't outright refuse or accept to teach him. The Uchiha simply grunted and went back to brooding. The Ninjutsu portion was the last part and it went in alphabetical order.

Naruto was among the last in the room before his name was called. "Alright Naruto, I need you to do the three basic Academy Justus." Iruka said. The two were the only ones in the room since Naruto had sent Mizuki to the hospital. Naruto used **Kawarimi **with a chair in the room and used **Henge **to turn into Iruka. He finished off the test with 50 **Bunshins**. Iruka was beyond happy and congratulated Naruto before grabbing a hitai-ate.

"Naruto, if you would let me, can I put your hitai-ate on you?" Iruka asked his now ex-student.

"Sure sensei, by all means." Naruto replied with a grin. Iruka bent down and replaced Naruto's googles with the hitai-ate. When he finished, small tears formed from his eyes.

He hugged the boy tightly before releasing. "I always believed that you could do it, I'm so proud of you." Iruka smiled as he wiped away the tears.

Naruto, this time, embraced his teacher. "Thank you for not hating me like everybody else Iruka-sensei. I learned a lot from you, even though your lectures were boring." The blonde joked. The two shared a quick laugh and promised to meet at Ichiraku's another time. Naruto met up with his friends and they went to the Akimichi's to celebrate their graduation. It was a festive day and around nighttime, Naruto left the compound to talk to the Sandaime.

He entered the room to find a limping Mizuki with a large scroll in his hands. "Look at my luck! Just before I leave the village, I get to kill the demon brat." Mizuki grinned evilly while placing the forbidden scroll down.

"So you're a traitor Mizuki-teme. I always thought your smiles were fake. Let me ask you a question before you die, who are you working for and why?" Naruto asked but went into his Taijutsu stance. Mizuki laughed hysterically at the boy.

"Who are you to ask me those questions?" The traitor mocked. "Since you're going to die anyway, I'll indulge in your last wish. I work for the great Orochimaru-sama and he promised me power to match even the Kages." Mizuki confessed to Naruto.

"There's no way you could do this alone. You're too stupid for that, who's helping you?" The blonde inquired, trying to goat Mizuki into revealing more information.

"I'm not stupid you fucking demon." The ex-teacher yelled. "Wait, why are you so calm when I'm about to kill you?" Mizuki's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Damn. I was hoping to get more information out of you. He's all yours ANBU-san." The jinchuriki called out. At Naruto's words, an ANBU appeared from the shadows and captured Mizuki with ninja wire. Mizuki didn't have time to react as the Hokage came into the room.

"ANBU, take the traitor to the T&amp;I building and give me a report on all the findings." Hiruzen told the ANBU, who immediately left. The Sandaime sat down in his chair and faced his surrogate grandson. "Looks like you graduated Naruto-kun, congratulations on being a Genin." The Hokage congratulated his newest Genin. His face then warped into one of seriousness. "Good job on getting Mizuki to reveal information but how did you know there was an ANBU nearby?" He asked Naruto.

Naruto gave a wide grin. "I just figured that there would be one nearby since an ANBU usually follows me around. Luckily I guessed right and Mizuki was apprehended without me lifting a finger." The blonde explained. "Oh, I won't be committing anymore pranks so you can tell them to stop tailing me." The new Genin added.

Hiruzen sweat dropped at the boy. Naruto had knew about the ANBU tailing him and the reason why they did. "Ignoring that last sentence, you shouldn't have provoked an enemy shinobi." He warned.

"I'm pretty sure I could take on Mizuki but I'll be more cautious next time." Naruto nodded and thanked his grandfather for the advice.

"Anyways Naruto, you'll receive partially pay for a B rank mission for your assistance in apprehending Mizuki. This won't go on your record as you're not officially a Genin until you see your Jonin sensei."

Hiruzen mixed some truth with the lies to prevent Naruto from knowing about the official Genin test. "Okay Jiji. I just stopped by to tell you I graduated but I see that you're going to be busy so I'll leave." Naruto said while saying his goodbyes to the Hokage.

When Naruto left the room, an ANBU **Shunshin **into the room. "What's the status of Mizuki, Dragon?" Hiruzen asked the ANBU Commander.

"Mizuki has revealed everything after he was interrogated by Ibiki. Inoichi mind walked into Mizuki to confirm that he's telling the truth. He has ties with a spy of Orochimaru, a Genin named Yakushi Kabuto. Kabuto's currently working at the hospital. We've also found out a hideout that leads out of Konoha." Dragon finished his report. The Hokage recognized the name Kabuto and scanned Danzo's Root roster.

"I want a team to capture Kabuto but proceed with caution. From Danzo's records, Kabuto was a former Root ANBU so he has at least Chunin skills. Take another team to investigate that hideout." The Hokage ordered. He had miscalculated, trusting in Danzo's papers. Hiruzen frowned that he allowed a mole to remain in Konoha.

Dragon nodded and left to gather the teams. Hiruzen lit his pipe with a small fire jutsu. _'How did Kabuto infiltrate Konoha without anyone knowing? He even hid in broad daylight yet no one suspected a thing. Is it possible that there's another traitor within our midst?' _The old man mused as he was left alone with a stack of paperwork.

***A week later at an unknown location***

"I've return Orochimaru-sama, Mizuki was captured by Konohagakure. I was unable to assassinate him before he revealed your secrets. I wish for you to forgive me for this failure." Kabuto reported while bowing. His ash grey hair was styled in a ponytail while the shinobi wore a high collar purple shirt with matching pants. A flask was thrown across the room and impacted the wall next to Kabuto.

"I knew I should've killed that idiot when I had the chance. It'll be more difficult to infiltrate Konoha now that Sarutobi is on the lookout for us." Orochimaru raged and accidently killed the specimen on the table. The Sannin's extremely pale skin glowed in the dark cave. The man's golden iris was able to strike fear in most beings. With purple markings around his eyes and fang-like teeth, it was appropriate to call him the snake Sannin.

"Shit! I killed this fool." Orochimaru cursed, throwing the corpse to the side. "This is unfortunate but we'll need to push back our plans to invade Konoha. The invasion will happen sometime after the Chunin Exam. Go and inform the Kazekage that the proposal is nulled because of complications. Also Kimimaro, I've a mission for you." Orochimaru barked out orders before turning to an equally pale skinned male. Two scarlet dots were marked on the male's forehead, proving him to be a member of the Kaguya clan. His white hair swooshed as he bent down to his knee.

"Is there anything I can do for you Orochimaru-sama?" Kimimaro asked his savior.

"I've heard of an interesting rumor out in Kusagakure. Apparently there's someone with abilities to heal people if bitten. I want you to find that person and bring them back here alive. They might be an interesting subject to test or a tool to heal my troops. Either way, take the Sound Five with you and don't fail me Kimimaro." The snake Sannin ordered Kimimaro.

"Of course Orochimaru-sama, your wish is my command." Kimimaro said before walking off.

'_Sarutobi-sensei, your beloved Konoha will fall to me and on that day I will kill you kukuku.'_ Orochimaru laughed as he looked at the jars that contained the Uchihas' eyes.

***At the same time in Konoha***

The Academy graduates waited patiently for Iruka to come and announce who would be their teammates. Unknown to them, the Hokage and several Jonins were watching them interact through a crystal. After a few short minutes, the Jonins backed up and waited for the Sandaime to speak. "You can now make your requests, if you have any." Hiruzen told the soon to be senseis. Three people raised their hands. Those Jonins were Sarutobi Asuma, Hatake Kakashi, and Yuuhi Kurenai. "I'll hear you out and decide whether to accept the request or not." The Hokage pointed to Kakashi first.

"I would like Uchiha Sasuke on my team as I'm the only one capable of teaching him the Sharingan." Kakashi said with an eye smile. The former ANBU captain was once again late to the meeting, forcing everyone to wait for him.

"I would like to request Hyuuga Hinata on my team for personal reasons Hokage-sama." Kurenai, the newest Jonin, requested.

"I want this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho." Asuma smirked as he ran a hand through his spiky black hair. The Sandaime's son had just returned from his service as a member of the twelve guardians shinobi. His attire consisted of a standard blue Jonin outfit. The main difference was that he had on a white sash with the kanji 'fire' written in red, tied to his waist. He had a goatee similar to his father. The younger Sarutobi was itching for a cigarette but a quick glare from his former teammate, Kurenai, stopped him.

Hiruzen pondered the requests for a moment. _'Kakashi's right as he's the only one able to help Sasuke. I should put Naruto on that team and see if Kakashi recognizes his sensei's son. Kurenai could hopefully boost Hinata's confidence and train her to be a respectful kunoichi. Asuma, on the other hand, is just being lazy. He knows that it's tradition for a Sarutobi to be the sensei of each generation of Ino-Shika-Cho.' _The Sandaime mused.

Hiruzen scribbled names on a paper, detailing the teams and sensei. He sent an ANBU to give the parchment to Iruka. He then gave all the Jonins a scroll with information on their team. "All requests are approved and you'll meet with your teams now. You're all dismissed except for Kakashi." The Hokage announced. As the Jonins funneled out of his room, Hiruzen turned to perpetually late Jonin. "Kakashi, you've got to stop being late. I don't care what you do on your own time but when it interferes with other people's time, we have a problem."

"Of course Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied but the Sandaime knew that the silver haired male had already forgot about the discussion.

"I didn't want to resort to this but I need to make sure you're no longer late." The Hokage sighed before reaching into one of his cabinets. The old man pulled out book with a red cover that depicted a man thinking about love. The book was autographed by the author, Jiraiya.

"That's the mega-rare misprint of Icha Icha: Violence with Jiraiya-sama's signature on the cover!" Kakashi shouted, his visible eye widening in disbelief. Only five copies were ever released because Jiraiya had accidently sent the unfinished manuscript of the third book instead of the completed second. It was rumored that Jiraiya had destroyed the copies to prevent anyone from knowing about the third book. The rumor turned out to be false since Hiruzen held one in his hand.

"As I've suspected, you know about the existence of this book." The Hokage said as he gently laid down the book on his desk. It was common knowledge that Kakashi was an avid collector of Icha Icha. He had the entire collection baring two. The book in front of him was one. The other was an exclusive book about a red haired woman and a blond male. "This book could be yours."

Kakashi's body jolted on the spot. He desperately wanted that book but he knew that there was a catch. "What do I need to do to obtain that masterpiece?" The Jonin asked.

Hiruzen smiled, knowing that he won. "You simply need to be on time for an entire year. That includes being on time for meetings, missions, and everything in between." The Sandaime replied, causing the Jonin to nod. The Hokage glanced at the clock. "Looks like you're going to be late to meet your team." He said nonchalantly and Kakashi was gone, along with the book.

Back at the Academy, Iruka was quieting his class. The Jonins walked into the room to observe the prospected Genins. Kakashi **Shunshin **into the building, surprising everyone. The Jonins and Iruka were astonished that he was even there. The students were surprised to see someone appear suddenly. Kakashi made his way to the back and Iruka continued where he left off. "Okay I'll announce the teams and you'll follow your Jonin-sensei. Before I begin, I would like to announce that the Rookie of the Year is Uchiha Sasuke while Haruno Sakura is our Kunoichi of the Year." As Iruka finished, screams came from the girls as they congratulated Sasuke. Naruto and a few others congratulated Sakura but she was too busy admiring the Uchiha.

Iruka coughed loudly to get the attention once more. "I want to say that I'm proud of all of you for making this far. If you work hard enough, you'll succeed at whatever you choose to do. Good luck on your careers as shinobi. Alright Team 1 is…" Iruka announced the teams. "Team 7 will consist of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto while your sensei is Hatake Kakashi."

Sasuke grunted in confirmation but he didn't like his team. _'Great, I get Sakura the fan girl and the dobe. At least the fan girl's smart and she's the Kunoichi of the Year. There's some hope for her. The dobe is going to drag me down with his idiocy. Although the Taijutsu he showed was interesting. This sensei better be competent and teach me everything I want to know. I need to get stronger to kill Itachi.' _Sasuke thought as he ignored Sakura's proclamation of true love.

The Uchiha's attire consisted of a high collar blue shirt that had the Uchiha symbol on the back. White shorts and matching arm warmers completed the outfit. His hitai-ate was fastened on his forehead. Sakura had grown out her hair after a rumor had circulated, stating that Sasuke liked girls with long hair. Similar to Tenten, Sakura also wore a qipao although of a red variety. She wore tight green shorts underneath with green sandals to match. Her red bow was replaced with the hitai-ate.

Naruto sighed as he laid his head on the desk. _'The team isn't too bad but those two don't particularly like me.' _Naruto sighed inwardly this time. The blonde wore a larger version of his old dark shinobi clothing. He had grown taller over the years, ranking in the middle of the class. The only change was that his hitai-ate was worn comfortably where his googles used to be.

Iruka announced the next team. "Team 8 will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba with your sensei being Yuuhi Kurenai." Shino and Hinata nodded but both were disappointed that Naruto wasn't their teammate, albeit for different reasons. Kiba was all smiles as he was on the team with his crush. The Inuzuka didn't particularly mind the presence of Shino.

Shino sported the typical look of his clan with a high collar greenish jacket and dark shades. Burgundy shinobi pants finished the look. Shino's hitai-ate was also worn on his forehead. Hinata wore a conservative tan jacket with the symbols of the Hyuuga Clan on both arm sleeves. In addition she wore black shinobi pants and blue shinobi sandals. Her hitai-ate was underneath her jacket and hung loosely around her neck. Kiba's outfit remained the same as he still wore his grey jacket. The only addition was the hitai-ate on his forehead and his matching grey pants.

"Team 9 is still in rotation so Team 10 will consist of Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino with your sensei being Sarutobi Asuma." The boys smiled at each other as Shikamaru knew this was going to happen. Ino groaned that she had chubby and lazy instead of being with Sasuke.

Benefiting his lazy nature, Shikamaru wore a simple grey jacket over a mesh shirt. His hitai-ate laid loosely tied around his left arm, right underneath his clan symbol. He was given brown pants by Yoshino. In contrast, Chouji had the most articles of clothing. On top he wore a white shirt, with the kanji 'food' on it, underneath an unbuttoned green haori. A long white scarf was fasten around his neck and he wore black shorts. Both his arms and legs were wrapped in bandages. His hitai-ate was on a headgear that allowed Chouji's brown hair to poke out. Ino wore a vest like blouse and skirt in her favorite color purple. The gap between the two clothing was filled with bandages with her hitai-ate on top. She also wore bandages underneath her skirt and white arm warmers. All three wore silver loop earrings.

"Sai has been selected to be an apprentice of Tenzo." Iruka announced as a brown haired man raised his hand. Although Naruto didn't know who the man was, he believed that Tenzo must have been a part of Root. The others looked at Sai, who wore the same outfit as Shin, wondering why he had been chosen.

The Jonin senseis collected their teams and left the room. "Team 7 meet me at Training Ground 7 in 10 minutes." Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto said his goodbyes to his friends as he followed Sasuke and Sakura. Near the entrance of the training ground was a grass field with three wooden poles standing upright. The majority of Training Ground 7 was a forest that extended into the next training ground, which was a 150 feet away. When they arrived at the training grounds, Kakashi motioned them to a spot with three poles. "Alright how about we introduce ourselves? Tell me your likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies and skills." Kakashi said as he eye smiled to his team.

"How about you go first sensei?" Sakura asked her sensei.

"Okay, my name's Hatake Kakashi and I'm an elite Jonin of the Konohagakure. I like a few things, dislikes are none of your business, I don't exactly have a dream, and all you need to know about my skills is that I'm strong." Kakashi answered half-heartily. The Genins sweat dropped at their sensei's answer. "Alright bubblegum, it's your turn." Kakashi pointed to Sakura.

'_Shannaro! My hair isn't bubblegum color, its cherry blossom color.' _The girl thought as she introduced herself. "My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are *blushes as she glances at Sasuke* and my dream is *once again Sakura glances at Sasuke*. My dislikes are Ino-Pig and Sai-Baka. My hobby is *glancing at Sasuke*. My skills are my intelligence and I know a few medical skills." Sakura concluded her introduction. Kakashi then pointed at Sasuke to introduce himself.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, the last loyal Uchiha. I don't like much and I dislike people inferior to me and fan girls." Sakura looked ashamed when Sasuke said that. "Dreams are irrelevant. My ambitions are to revive my clan and to kill a certain man. My only hobby is training to get stronger. My skills are better than everyone in my class as I'm the Rookie of the Year." Sasuke said smugly as he finished. Sakura had hearts in her eyes while staring at the Uchiha. Both Naruto and Kakashi knew who Sasuke was talking about. Kakashi decided to ask Sasuke about it private.

Kakashi pointed to his last student, the pariah of Konoha. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are my friends, people that care for me, ramen, pranks, and reading. My dislikes are the three minutes it takes for instant ramen to cook, people who judge others without getting to know them, and getting chased around by the crazy snake lady." Naruto said as a small chill went down his back. Kakashi shivered as well as he knew only one person who used snakes and she wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"My dreams are to become Hokage and to find other Uzumaki, if there are any left in the world." The blonde continued. Sasuke snorted at Naruto's dream.

"As if a clan less dope like you can ever become Hokage." Sasuke smirked. Kakashi thought Naruto would start arguing with Sasuke.

Instead the Uzumaki calmly answered Sasuke's jab. "Even if there isn't any more Uzumaki out there, I'm still one." The blonde replied as he pointing his thumb to his chest. Sasuke wanted to refute but couldn't as it was also partially true for him as well. The jinchuriki continued his introduction.

"My hobbies are gardening and reading all sorts of books. My skills aren't anything special." Naruto lied with a straight face. Kakashi scanned Naruto for any hint of deception. _'It seems I really can't trust the Academy reports on Naruto. He was able to prank me when I was in ANBU, either he's really good in stealth or he's trying to purposely hide his skills.' _Kakashi thought while observing the blonde.

"Hey sensei, why are we here?" Naruto asked, snapping Kakashi from his thoughts.

"Oh right, you're about to take a test that will determine whether you become Genin or not." Kakashi answered lazily.

"WHAT!?" The lone kunoichi shouted. "We already passed the test to become Genin at the Academy." Sakura protested.

Kakashi showed a neutral face. "That test determines if you have the potential to be a shinobi. The real test determines whether your skills are enough to be a Genin. Only a third of the graduated students will actually become a Genin." The silver haired man answered.

"That means we only have a 33% chance of passing. That's unfair to us." Sakura complained.

"The world of shinobi is an unfair one but you'll have to deal with it. Anyways, if you want to pass, all you need to do is get a bell from me." The one eyed Jonin said as he held up two bells.

"But Kakashi-sensei, there are only two bells." Sakura stated the fact.

"That means one of you is going to be sent back to the Academy." Kakashi responded.

Kakashi looked at his students for their reactions. Sakura was yelling how she and Sasuke wasn't going to fail. Sasuke hmphed with arrogance as he believed he couldn't possibly fail. Naruto sat there silently and didn't show a single reaction. _'Okay, either he's shitting his pants on the thought of failing or he's already thinking of a plan. Man he really is the most unpredictable ninja.' _Kakashi thought as he was stumped again by the blond enigma.

**-Kakashi vs Naruto/Sakura/Sasuke-**

"You'll have exactly one hour or when this clock rings to get one of these bells. Come at me with the intent to kill. The test starts now!" Kakashi announced. At the signal, all three hopeful Genins dashed away from the Jonin. _'Looks like they're smart enough to hide. Now let's see here, I found Sakura in the bush over there. Not bad but I'll need to help her blend into her environments more. Sasuke's in the tree a couple feet away spying on me, pretty good for an Academy student. Naruto is…shit! I should've stopped Naruto from going into the forest. I'm definitely not going to search for him.' _Kakashi evaluated the three and then pulled out Icha Icha: Paradise. He had placed his newest Icha Icha book at home to prevent it from collecting dust.

Sasuke was infuriated with the Jonin. '_He's calmly reading a book. Does he think I'm not a worthy opponent?' _The Uchiha fumed when he felt a tap on his shoulders. The raven haired boy glanced up to find Naruto hanging upside down with his legs holding onto the branch. _'When did the dobe get there?'_

"Hey Sasuke you want to team up together with Sakura? I have a plan." Naruto whispered to his new teammate.

"Hn, I don't need your help. I'm an Uchiha, an elite. There's no way I'm working with you or Sakura." Sasuke said before leaping off the tree to engage Kakashi. Naruto sighed inwardly and went to find Sakura. When he proposed the idea of working together with her, the kunoichi refused saying only she and Sasuke was going to pass. Naruto wished his teammates would at least try to cooperate with him. Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, the blonde went back to placing traps.

Meanwhile Sasuke was attacking Kakashi with Taijutsu. The Uchiha had yet to land a single hit on the Jonin nor had he made Kakashi look away from the book. Sasuke was frustrated with his lack of progress so he switched to Ninjutsu. "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**." Sasuke blew out a huge fire ball towards Kakashi. The Copy Nin, seeing the size of the jutsu, disappeared underground. When the fire jutsu finished, charred ground took the place of the silver haired man.

Sasuke smirked at his apparent victory until hands grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him underground. "**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)**." Kakashi said as he jumped out of the ground. "I must say, you surprised me with the size of the fireball but you're too confident in yourself." Kakashi remarked before he leapt away to where Sakura was hiding, leaving a buried Sasuke.

Kakashi was able to instantly fool Sakura with a simple Genjutsu and was now tying her and Sasuke to the posts. _'Looks like another team that failed to pass. It's quite a shame, seeing how Naruto asked them to work together._ _Now I have to find Naruto since I'm required to see his skills even though I don't want to.' _Kakashi shuddered and proceeded carefully into the forest. After what seemed like five minutes, the Jonin still couldn't find the blond boy.

As he placed his foot on the ground, a trap sprang into action. Kunai came from the left while shuriken came from the left. Kakashi jumped into the air, only to pull a trip wire. An iron ball came from behind him, threating to shatter his back. With a quick **Kawarimi **with a tree branch, the Copy Nin escaped the iron ball. Just when the Jonin thought it was over, an explosion came from under him. Kakashi was able to escape in time due to his experience.

'_Damn it! It's like he knows exactly where I'm going to land. I shouldn't have told them to come at me with the intent to kill. I need to get out of this forest.' _Kakashi thought as he dodged two more kunai. Kakashi sped off towards the clearing where Sakura and Sasuke were held. Unfortunately, the two were no longer there. The silver haired man figured they had gone back into hiding. So he waited but they didn't come out. _'Why hasn't the alarm rang yet?' _Kakashi wondered as he walked towards the alarm clock.

As soon as the Jonin reached for the alarm, Sasuke appeared from the forest and charged the Copy Nin. In the instant Kakashi turned around, a surge of electricity rang through his body. Kakashi collapsed to one knee and looked to see a grinning Naruto. The jinchuriki grabbed the bells and tossed them to Sasuke and Sakura, who had also came out of the forest. "I think we passed the test, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he released his seal.

After a few quick breaths, Kakashi got up to his feet and nodded. Sakura jumped up and down while also trying to hug Sasuke. The Uchiha dodged her as he smirked smugly. Naruto shouted for joy and did a quick victory lap. "Before I tell you why you graduated, tell me how you caught me." He asked his new students. Naruto decided to answer the question.

"When you went into the forest to search for me, I came here and untied Sasuke and Sakura. After I finished untying them, I reset the alarm time. I then proposed my plan once again and they accepted when I told them I'll give them the bells. When you noticed that something was wrong with the clock, we initiated the plan. Sasuke appeared from the trees to distract you momentarily. I used **Kawarimi no Jutsu **to switch places with the clock and I slapped a stun seal on you. You know the rest from there." The blonde explained.

Kakashi nodded but was frowning inwardly. _'In the end, Naruto did most of the work to beat me. It seems like I have a Nara in Naruto without the laziness. If Sasuke can let go of his arrogant pride and Sakura with her infatuation with him, this could be a really good team. I need to fix those issues before I train them.' _Kakashi thought while showing the trio an eye smile. "Alright, Naruto congratulations on passing the test." He said, much to the shock of the three Genin. "You two will be sent back to the Academy." Kakashi added, pointing to Sakura and Sasuke.

"WHY!?" The kunoichi hollered. "Sasuke and I are the ones who got the bells, not Naruto. He should be the one going back to the Academy." She protested. Sasuke gave Kakashi a full on glare. Naruto sat down wondering why he had passed, when it came to him.

"The actual purpose of this test is teamwork. The only one who actually displayed that was Naruto when he saved you two from the posts and gave you the bells." Kakashi explained.

"Let me tell you a saying my friend once told me, 'Those who don't obey the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash'." Kakashi repeated Obito's words. He spotted that Sakura was about to complain so he spoke again. "Don't tell me that you two are better than Naruto. Out on the battlefield, titles from the Academy mean nothing. The enemy could care less if you were the Rookie or Kunoichi of the Year. Sasuke, you're too arrogant and think you can accomplish things on your own. Sakura, you only worry about Sasuke and never once thought about Naruto's safety. Naruto also have flaws that he needs to correct. When he set up his traps, he never thought about your safeties." Kakashi finished talking. Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance, Sakura looked down in shame, and Naruto slowly nodded as if he was admitting that Kakashi was right.

"Despite this, I'm passing all of you because I believe we have the potential to be a great team." Kakashi said to them. They all had smiles on their face, although Sasuke's was a small one. "So from now on, we're Team 7."

**Reviews:**

**skg1991 – **Well I did want to make this story original. I do know some stories where he doesn't have **Kage Bunshins**, so it isn't exactly a new idea. The elemental clones will give him more advantages but he won't have the information transfer.

**Xanaris **– Thank you for the advice. When I have time, I'll try to polish up my earlier chapters.

**bankai777 **– He might or he might not. If he does, it'll be during the three year time skip.

**NinjaFang1331 **– Thank you for the compliment.

**sparrowhawk13 – **I hope the pace wasn't too fast this chapter. I didn't have much left to introduce in the Academy stage. The Sandaime will be slightly stronger than he was in canon.

**gual1 – **Thank you for reading and reviewing.

**emilbootanimefreak – **The **Puppy Eyes Jutsu** is officially an E to S rank jutsu since it depends on who uses it and who they use it on lol. Naruto only has Chunin level stamina because he's still young. When he gets older, he'll have more chakra which means more stamina. I'm not giving him the **Kage Bunshin**. The polls are above and it would take a drastic effort from everyone, for Tenten not to be in it.

**moon fire 13 **– I have a way that I think will work stopping him learn B rank and above jutsus. Biju cloak won't be used until the three year time skip when his enemies are stronger.

**Ryuujin96 **– Thank you for the long review. It makes me happy that you took the time to write all of that. Yeah different events causes different chain reactions but not all of them are good. I like the idea of Dosu's drill but I fixed Naruto's Taijutsu with something original. I might incorporate the drill but for something else. I read a lot of fanfics where Naruto pranks the ANBU. Anko is a great character to write since she's so crazy and hilarious. I'll use different reasons to justify each person in the harem. I also think Haku's a great match for Naruto since they're similar.

**Naruto-kun257 **– I really can't see Haku as anything other than a girl. Freaking Japan makes girls look like boys and boys look like girls.

**Silvermane1 – **Thank you very much.


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/9/16. Added more details and fixed any mistakes that I've found.

**A.N.**

To begin, I'll like to thank everyone for taking their time to vote on the harem. Here are the long awaited results:

Tenten Higarashi – 32 votes  
Fu – 27 votes  
Samui – 23 votes  
Anko Mitarashi – 21 votes  
Yugito – 20 votes  
Konan – 16 votes  
Hana Inuzuka – 14 votes  
Kin Tsuchi – 14 votes  
Mei Terumi – 14 votes  
Mabui – 11 votes  
Kurotsuchi – 10 votes  
Karui – 1 vote

Congratulations to the fans of Tenten, Fu, and Samui! They'll be joining Haku in the harem. I was honestly scared that third place was going to be tied. If that had happened, I wouldn't have known what to do LOL. Anyway enough about that, let's talk about the story. I wasn't able to fit the Wave Arc in this chapter since it would've been too long. I plan to try to make the Wave Arc as original as possible since I know that people are tired of reading the same thing over and over. Well happy reading everyone!

**Chapter 6: Breaking the (Canon) Mold**

After dismissing his team, Kakashi went to report to the Hokage. Unsurprisingly, he was still the last to arrive even though he wasn't late. The Sandaime smiled that Jonin was keeping his end of the bargain. "Now that everyone's here, can you give me the results?" Hiruzen asked his Jonins for their reports. (Just like in canon, Teams 1-6 fails).

"Team 7, pass." The silver haired Jonin lazily reported as the whole room erupted in chatter. Kakashi, the one who had always failed his team, passed one this year.

"Of course Kakashi passed his team, he has the Rookie and Kunoichi of the Year." A random Jonin commented. The others nodded their heads at the logic.

_'I can't wait to see their faces!'_ Kakashi inwardly chuckled. "Actually the only reason they passed is because Naruto took the bells from me and gave them to Sasuke and Sakura." Kakashi replied as he quickly lifted his hitai-ate and looked around the room to remember everyone's shocked faces. _'That was totally worth it.' _Kakashi thought as he put his hitai-ate back to its original position.

The room erupted into laughter as nearly everyone believed that Kakashi was joking. The only ones not laughing was Kurenai, Kakashi, and Hiruzen. _'I know Yugao said that Naruto shouldn't be underestimated but Kakashi's an elite Jonin. If this is indeed true, I should've asked for Naruto to be put on my team. After all, he's the reason that Hinata has been gaining more confidence recently.' _Kurenai sighed at the missed opportunity.

"Kakashi, I would like to hear everything regarding your test." The Hokage said with curiosity. Kakashi gladly gave his report and retold the events to everyone. During Kakashi's report, blanks were etched onto the other Jonins' faces as they weren't sure how to react.

"After scolding them, I passed the team and we became Team 7." The Copy Nin finished his report on his new team. Hiruzen nodded and turned to Kurenai and Asuma.

"What has become of your teams?" He asked the two.

"Team 8 passes, Hokage-sama." Kurenai said respectively and Asuma followed.

"Team 10 also pass, Hokage-sama." The son reported.

"It looks like we have three new Genin squads this year. As their senseis, make sure they're prepared to face the trials of being a shinobi of Konohagakure." Hiruzen remarked. The three Jonin saluted the Hokage. "Everyone's dismissed but don't forget to give your written reports on the graduates." The Hokage reminded.

The Jonins groaned before exiting the room. Hiruzen looked at the next item on his agenda. It pertained to the upcoming Chunin Exam in Konoha. "I need to send messages to the other villages, inviting them to participate in this year's Chunin Exam. Perhaps I should send an invite to Kumo and Iwa as a good will gesture. They aren't going to come here anyway." Hiruzen smiled as he tied the invitations to the messenger birds.

***The Konohagakure Library***

In the Genin section of the library, sat Uzumaki Naruto with several blank scrolls on the table in front of him. The table also had stacks of books and scrolls that pertained a wide variety of subjects. Since Shinobi scrolls and books weren't available for checkout, Naruto had to write everything down in a scroll. Currently, he was copying the contents of 'Chakra Control' in an effort to improve himself in that area. He received a small tap on his shoulder and looked behind him. Standing behind him was Shizune, his surrogate sister. "Hello Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" She quietly asked, curiously on what he was up to.

"Hi Shizune-neesan, I'm looking up books that'll help me become a better shinobi." Naruto answered while smiling. Shizune looked at the massive stack of scrolls and books.

"Wow Naruto-kun." She said exasperatedly. "You certainly are working hard. But don't you think this is a little much?" Shizune was impressed but was worried that Naruto would burn himself out.

"I don't think so because information is knowledge after all. If I can study all of this, it'll help me later on." The boy reasoned.

"How about I help you?" Shizune offered. "From what I see, there are several books that contain the same information. If you copy everything down from every book, you'll be stuck in here all week."

"Aren't you really busy with baa-chan? I don't think you have time to help me." Naruto wondered. Shizune shook her head.

"Tsunade-sama kicked me out of her office earlier. She said that she needed some peace and quiet. But we both know that she just wants to drink the sake under her desk." The black haired female explained. They shared a laugh but was quickly shushed by the other people in the library. He accepted Shizune's offer to help. Just like she said, the older sister gathered all the books that were similar to each other while Naruto continued copying his chakra control book. Eventually Shizune had a pile of books on her side while Naruto had only a few. The medic-nin returned the books to their proper places and came back to her little brother.

On the table was the Chakra Control book Naruto had just finished copying, a scroll with information on the five elements, Jiraiya's 'Fuinjutsu Level Four: Making Your Own Seals', the bingo book, and a book on the history of Uzushiogakure. "Naruto-kun, these books and scrolls are all very different from each other. Why do they interest you?" Shizune asked since curiosity was getting to her.

"Yugao-nee told me that chakra control benefits all shinobi. She said that since I have such a large amount of chakra, it doesn't affect me as much. I wanted to work on it anyway as I don't want to waste chakra by putting too much into a single jutsu. Also in this book, the first two chakra control exercises are tree walking and water walking. That's so cool! I can't wait to walk on water!" Naruto exclaimed, his excitement causing him to receive another shush from everyone.

"I took the element scroll because I recently saw Sasuke used a fire jutsu and I was curious if I was able to do that as well." The blonde said as he held up the respective scroll.

Shizune took a seat next to him, deciding to advise Naruto. "I'll explain it to you then. Chakra has elemental properties to them. The five elements are fire, wind, water, earth, and lightening. Everyone has an elemental affinity within them." Shizune explained as she scanned the library for something. She left a confused Naruto and returned shortly with a piece of paper.

"This is paper made from a tree that grows from chakra. It determines what elemental affinity you have when you apply chakra to it. The way to determine the affinity is based on how the paper reacts. The paper will burn if it's fire, split in half if it's wind, wrinkle if it's lightening, crumble if it's earth, or get soggy if it's water." Shizune explained before handing the paper over to Naruto. The boy poured chakra into the paper as instructed. The paper split in half right down the middle and both halves became soggy.

"Does that mean I have two affinities?" Naruto asked Shizune. She was surprised that he possessed two elemental natures. Most people tended to only have a single affinity. They only gained a second after training rigorously for years.

"You're correct Naruto-kun. It's quite impressive that you have two affinities." Shizune praised the blond.

"Does that mean I can only use wind or water jutsus?" Naruto inquired. If that was the case, he would be disappointed since it would be awesome to use all five.

"Having an affinity for an element simply means that you're able to use those elements easier than the others. You can still learn the others but it'll be more difficult to use them." Shizune said after she saw his frown.

"Does anybody use all five of the elements?" Naruto asked. He wanting to ask advice from that person, if they existed. Shizune lightly giggled at him.

"Yes, somebody very close to you uses all five." She answered. Shizune saw that Naruto's face had turned into one of frustration as he thought of the person. "It's Sandaime Hokage-sama." The black haired woman told him. Naruto's face morphed into one of admiration.

"I'm going to go find Jiji." He blurted out. Before Naruto could run off, he was halted when Shizune grasped his shoulder.

"You can go later Naruto-kun; I still want you to explain these other books to me. I'm curious and it's the least you can do since I helped you." The med-nin persuaded. The older woman had an idea what they were for but wanted to talk to Naruto since she rarely saw him.

Naruto nodded and picked up Jiraiya's book. "I'm learning Fuinjutsu and I'm currently on level three. The reason why I picked up this art is because it was one thing the Uzumaki clan was famous for." The blonde explained. Shizune was amazed that Naruto was able to comprehend such a complex art. Although it was immensely useful, Fuinjutsu was a dying art as not many could understand it. "The bingo book is useful since it lists dangerous shinobi. You'll never know when you'll encounter an enemy shinobi when you're out on a mission. If I do somehow encounter one, I'll know their weaknesses and strengths. I might never need this information but it's better to be safe than sorry." Naruto said to Shizune. The boy continued as he picked up the history book. "I want to learn more about my clan. This isn't going to make me a stronger shinobi but I want to learn anything that could help me identify future Uzumaki, if there are any left." Naruto said the last part quietly.

Shizune noticed Naruto's sad expression and decided to change the topic. "Well Naruto-kun, how about I go with you to visit Hokage-sama?" She suggested to the blonde.

"Sure Shizune-neesan, I don't mind if you come." Naruto replied.

It took twenty minutes for Naruto to finish copying the rest. Afterwards he and Shizune headed to the Hokage's office. When they arrived at the door, they were ushered in by the secretary. "Oh, what can I do for the two of you?" Hiruzen asked as he was glad for the distraction.

"Jiji, Shizune-neechan told me that you can use all five elements." Naruto replied.

The Hokage gave the boy a grandfatherly smile. "Yes, I can use all five elements. Why do you ask?" The Sandaime inquired.

Naruto told the Hokage the same story he had told to Shizune and how he had two affinities. "So I was wondering how you trained to use all five elements." Naruto finished.

Hiruzen leaned back into his chair in thought. "Naruto-kun learning all five elements is extremely difficult due to the fact that elements that aren't your affinity requires more chakra to use. I honestly don't believe you'll have a problem with this however. The only thing you can do is practice, lots of practice." The old man said before he searched for a scroll in his desk.

Finally locating it, he tossed the scroll to Naruto. "That scroll contains the training method I used to fully master all the chakra natures along with a E-Rank jutsu of each element. If you master an element, it becomes easier to control while also being more powerful. However, it takes years for one to master an element even if it's their affinity. There are three levels in total for each element. Each level being more difficult than the last. Think of it as a graduation present. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor." Hiruzen remarked. He chuckled when he saw Naruto's face.

Naruto was in pure disbelief that there was so much to learn regarding jutsus. The blonde believed that he would need to start now to have a chance to become Hokage like his grandfather and father. "Thank you Jiji, I'm going to work hard and one day I'll take your job dattebayo." Naruto proclaimed.

"I can't wait for that day to happen Naruto-kun." Hiruzen replied as he honestly believed that Naruto had what it takes to become Hokage.

"Well I'm going to work on my chakra control first before I start with my chakra nature." Naruto said as he mentally began planning his schedule.

Naruto and Shizune left the room and the blonde was about to storm off to train when he was called back by his older sister. "Naruto-kun, where are you going? You're supposed to be a gentleman and take me home. Were you not taught manners?" Shizune teased him when she suddenly remembered that Naruto didn't have parents. "Naruto-kun I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

He interrupted her. "It's okay Shizune-neesan, come on I'll walk you home." Naruto said as he walked with her to the Senju Compound, located on the east side of Konohagakure.

When they arrived, they saw a little boy with a long scarf arguing with Tsunade in front of the compound. "Shut up old hag, it's your fault I failed to defeat Jii-chan the other day." The boy with the scarf barked out.

Tsunade lifted him by said scarf and stared straight into eyes. "Listen brat. You tripped over your stupid long scarf, I had nothing to do with it. I swear kids these days have no respect for their elders." Tsunade said in annoyance.

"Tsunade-sama you can't hurt the poor little boy." Shizune said as she ran over and tried to run damage control.

Naruto walked over to the group as well. "Baa-chan you should be the mature one here. Just let the kid go." The blonde boy sighed at his godmother.

"But Naru-chan…" Tsunade whimpered at the one being scolded. She reluctantly released the kid and the kid ran to hide behind Naruto.

"Ha, I found your weakness you old hag." The little boy said, sticking his tongue out.

"Kid I don't know who you are but you shouldn't mess with my Baa-chan. She's my family and I would do anything to protect her, not that she needs it." Naruto chuckled lightly. Tsunade regained her smile.

"My name's Sarutobi Konohamaru and I'm the grandson of the Sandaime." Konohamaru shouted. Naruto gave him a devilish grin and pointed to Tsunade.

"My Baa-chan's name is Senju Tsunade. She's the granddaughter of the Shodaime, grandniece of the Nidaime, student of the Sandaime, and one of the legendary Sannin." Naruto told Konohamaru. The younger boy paled instantly while Tsunade was clutching her sides in laughter.

"I-I'm sorry for yelling at you, please don't hurt me." Konohamaru shivered as he apologized. The adults and Naruto raised an eyebrow at the boy's nervousness.

"Konohamaru-kun you don't have to be afraid. Tsunade-sama won't hurt you if you're nice to her." Shizune tried to assure the boy.

"But she's the one Jii-chan told me about. He told me that she would punch her teammate through walls or make a crater by stomping on that teammate." Konohamaru said while averting everyone's gaze. Naruto and Shizune turned to Tsunade, who had turn her head away in embarrassment.

'_Looks like I need to talk to sensei about telling stories about me to kids. Even if they're true.'_ The blonde Sannin mused when a voice called out.

"Honorable Grandson, I've finally found you." A male voice broke the conversation. A man with glasses walked up to the little boy. He had on a blue shinobi outfit and a blue bandana to match. Ebisu spotted Naruto standing near Konohamaru. "Honorable Grandson, it's time for me to take you home. You don't need to talk to this savage." Ebisu spat out in disgust.

_'Damn even as a fellow shinobi, I still get treated like trash.' _Naruto thought while remained silent. Behind him, Tsunade was regaining her temper.

"But this person helped protect me, he isn't bad." Konohamaru protested to the Tokubetsu Jonin.

Ebisu was about to retort when he heard a female voice. "You better choose your words carefully the next time you talk about my godson." Tsunade threatened while cracking her knuckles.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama I didn't see you." The man said as looked at the Sannin. "Rest assured that I'll protect the Honorable Grandson from bad influences." Ebisu smiled confidently as he had mistaken who Tsunade was talking about. The blonde medic-nin seized his throat and hoisted Ebisu into the air.

"My godson's name is Uzumaki Naruto and I warned you to watch your words carefully." Tsunade growled as she relaxed her grip before grabbing Ebisu's collar. She yanked back her hand that was holding Ebisu and threw him across the village. Shrieks and screams were heard as he landed into the hot springs. The women in the springs proceeded to beat him into a bloody pulp before tossing him over the fence. Naruto sweat dropped at his godmother's actions.

"Um thanks Baa-chan but you don't need to do that. I'm used to it." The blonde said but appreciated that she defended him. As Naruto finished his sentence, he was smoldered by breasts. With Tsunade's arms wrapped around his back, the blond boy was quickly running out of breath.

"Tsunade-sama you're going to suffocate him!" Shizune said loudly in panic. Realizing what was happening, Tsunade slacken her death hug.

"Oops, my bad Naru-chan. I sometimes forget my own strength." The older blond apologized.

When she finally released him, Naruto breathed in the precious air. "Why did Ebisu-sensei call you a bad influence?" Konohamaru asked the older boy. Naruto was unsure how to answer the question since no one had ever asked him that before.

"Well you see Konohamaru, I constantly prank the village. Your sensei didn't want you to turn out like me." Naruto explained, glad that he found a solid reason.

Konohamaru's eyes turned into stars of admiration as he looked at Naruto. "You're my idol! I remember all of your pranks. I even have a journal with pictures of your pranks. The best one was when you painted the Hokage Monument." Konohamaru said rapidly, unable to contain his excitement.

Everyone else just chuckled at the little boy. "That one took a lot of time to prepare, I had to do it really early or I would've been caught." Naruto said in remembrance.

"I've decided that from now I'll call you, Boss. After all you're my idol and you always say my name." Konohamaru declared.

Naruto was perplexed by this. "What do you mean I always say your name?" The male blond asked.

"Well everyone else in the village always calls me Honorable Grandson but you don't." Konohamaru answered shyly. Naruto saw an image of his younger self in Konohamaru. While the jinchuriki did things to gain attention, Konohamaru wanted recognition.

"Alright Konohamaru, we can hang out when I'm free. As you can tell by my hitai-ate, I'm a Konoha shinobi so I won't have all the time in the world but I'll try to make time for you. It's getting dark, you should head home for today." Naruto said as he ruffled the younger boy's hair. Konohamaru hugged Naruto before waving his goodbyes to everyone and headed back home. "Well I should head home as well." The blonde remarked but was once again stopped, this time by Tsunade.

"Naru-chan, come have dinner with Shizune and me. We haven't been able to spend much time lately and I miss my cute godson." The older blonde pleaded as she pulled him into the home before he could decline the invitation. Shizune silently followed behind with a smile on her face. The dinner was sushi that Tsunade had brought earlier at the market. She brought it because it was next to the sake and she had a small craving for it. As the dinner finished, Shizune took him around a tour of the house. The Sannin was in the living room when the duo made it there. "Naru-chan, what do you think about living with us?" She asked nervously before continuing. "I mean we have plenty of room and I don't like the fact that you're living in the red light district. You can be with Shizune and me and we'll be like a real family." Tsunade tried to convince her godson. Naruto gave her and Shizune a small smile.

"Baa-chan I appreciate the offer but my home is in the red light district. While it's a bad place, the people there never discriminated me. I'm not exactly alone anymore as I have my brothers, Shin and Sai. We might not see each other often anymore but they are like, no, they are family to me." Naruto said with conviction. Tsunade and Shizune could only sigh as they understood that Naruto wasn't going to budge on the issue. The blonde boy said his goodbyes and headed home after the conversation.

Once home, he decided to work on the tree walking exercise before calling a night. Naruto read over the various steps on how to successfully complete the exercise. He laid down on the ground underneath the tree and applied chakra to his feet. He slowly took a step and then another. He was now hovering above the ground. In the excitement of his accomplishment, his concentration slipped. He applied too much chakra and was blasted off the tree.

He flew a few feet and landed on the ground with a thud. The tree gained a sizeable hole from the blast. As Naruto regained his bearings, a flash of light went off. The blonde turned around to see Shin with a camera in his hands. "Man Naruto, you flew quite a bit!" The older male teased. "I'm going to have Sai paint this picture and put it up on the wall." Shin laughed, at the expense of his little brother.

"Haha, laugh at my misery." The blonde said sarcastically. "You just came back from a mission?" Naruto asked, getting off the ground.

"Yeah, border patrol is so boring. I wish you and Sai were there with me." Shin complained. "Anyway I need a shower so I'll talk to you later." Shin went into his and Sai's apartment and left Naruto alone. The jinchuriki went back to tree climbing and practiced until he got up to the first branch. The blonde then went into his apartment and took a quick shower. He checked over his supplies and decided to head to Higarashi's the next morning. Naruto put on his pajamas and sleeping cap before heading to bed.

***The Next Morning***

Naruto left his apartment around six and walked to Higarashi's. The streets were mostly empty as most of the populace was still asleep. When he got there, he saw Team 9 minus Tenten standing in the shop. "Good morning, Naruto-kun!" The spandex duo greeted loudly, much to the ire of Kajiya and Neji.

"Good morning Naruto-san, what are you doing here?" Neji asked.

"Morning everyone. I came to get some extra supplies and to get my sword checked." Naruto answered.

"I hear that you're on my youthful rival's team. Now our teams can compete against each other!" Gai remarked, giving his nice guy pose.

"That would be an unfair advantage. Your team has a year on ours and we aren't as strong as you guys." Naruto said as he handed his wakizashi to Kajiya for inspection.

"Life isn't fair and you know our skills while we don't know the skills of your teammates." Neji logically argued.

"Brilliant idea Neji, I shall ask Kakashi if he would like for our teams to spar." Gai said enthusiastically.

Gai ran off to find Kakashi while Neji sighed. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I was just pointing out facts." The male Hyuuga said as Tenten came down.

"Where's Gai-sensei? I know I heard his voice." Tenten asked.

"Good morning Tenten, Gai-sensei is seeking Naruto-kun's sensei so our teams can spar." Lee answered while he was stretching.

"I thought we were supposed to do a mission today?" She pouted, folding her arms across her chest. "Gai-sensei told us we were going to do a C-rank mission." Tenten gave up on understanding the man.

The group made idle chatter as Kajiya returned with Naruto's wakizashi and Gai returned with Kakashi. "Gai, for the last time, I don't think it's a good idea for our teams to spar." Kakashi groaned as he straightened his clothing. He was literally dragged out of his apartment by the spandex man.

"My youthful rival, this will benefit both of our teams. My team will see how far they've come in a year and your team will learn that they have a long way to go before they become strong shinobis." Gai reasoned.

Kakashi pondered the idea for a bit. _'Sasuke would learn some humility and that he isn't the strongest of his generation, at least not yet. Hopefully Sakura will break out her fan girl attitude when she faces a kunoichi that spends her time training instead of stalking after a boy. Naruto's still an enigma as he hasn't show me any of his skills besides stealth, trap making, and Fuinjutsu. This will be a good chance to learn about him as well.' _Kakashi pondered as the idea was quite sensible. "Sure, I think we should meet at Training Ground 7 in two hours." The silver haired agreed as he gave an eye smile.

"Yosh! While we wait, we'll do out light warm ups at their training grounds!" Gai shouted. Lee responded in kind while Neji and Tenten groaned. The spandex duo sprinted out of the building and left everyone else in the dust.

"Why couldn't my daughter get a more normal sensei?" Kajiya grumbled as his store was now full of dust.

"Why don't we grab Sasuke and Sakura?" The Copy Nin suggested. "It would be better if they warmed up as well." Kakashi said to Naruto and they left the store.

After grabbing an irritated Sakura and an annoyed Sasuke, Team 7 arrived to their training grounds. "Gah, what's with those outfits?" The pink head kunoichi blanched. "My eyes must be seeing things." Sakura rubbed her eyes, hoping to get rid of the so called illusion. Team 9 stopped their activities and the teams introduced themselves. Lee had fallen in love at first sight with Sakura, much to the ire of the kunoichi.

"I'll protect you with my life Sakura-san!" The spandex boy proclaimed.

"…Sorry but no thanks." The pinkette slowly backed away from him. As the teams talked, their senseis were discussing how to match up the spars.

"Gai, how should we pair this up?" Kakashi consulted the fellow Jonin.

"Neji vs Naruto, Tenten vs Sakura, and Lee vs Sasuke." Gai answered.

"Wouldn't it be better for the two Rookies of the Year to go against each other?" The silver haired Jonin inquired. "I'm not saying that Lee or Naruto are weak but I don't think they can compete against two prodigies." Kakashi replied because he wanted it to be fair match.

"Kakashi, you're about to get a rude awakening." Gai smirked.

The Copy Nin was perplexed by Gai's statement. He could believe that Lee was as strong as Sasuke since he had a year of experience but Naruto was a different story. Sure, the Academy report wasn't a good indicator on Naruto's abilities but Neji was considered a prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan despite being a branch member. "What do you mean by that Gai?" Kakashi asked.

"I've been training Naruto in Taijutsu and we've created a new style for him." Gai answered proudly.

The Copy Nin was shocked by this proclamation. "Why were you training Naruto when you had your own team?" Kakashi wanted to know the reason.

"Naruto-kun is a good friend of our Tenten and has taught a valuable lesson to Neji. Naruto-kun works very hard and has become an excellent rival for Lee. So I agreed to teach him when he asked. You shall see first-hand why he'll be a force to reckon with in the future." Gai explained as he called the students over.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are we doing here anyway." Sakura asked.

"We're going to have a one on one spar against Team 9. They've been a team for a year so they're quite strong. I want to see how you stack up against them." Kakashi explained. "The first match will be Sasuke vs Lee. Anything is allowed except killing blows since we want to gauge your skills."

"Yosh! Gai-sensei I'll make you proud." Lee shouted.

"Hn, as if this green weakling can beat an elite Uchiha like me." Sasuke grunted.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't underestimate bushy brows. Sure he looks like that but he's super strong. I usually can't keep up with him when we fight." Naruto tried to warn his teammate.

"That's because you're weak as well. I don't need advice from a dobe." The Uchiha boy smirked.

"Look Sasuke, I'm trying to help you out. You don't have to listen to my advice if you don't want to." Naruto replied, quickly getting annoyed with Sasuke's attitude.

"Fine." Sasuke replied as he faced Lee.

**-Lee vs Sasuke-**

"You should give up now. There's no way someone like you can beat an Uchiha." Sasuke taunted Lee like Neji used to.

Lee got into his Goken stance. "I'll prove to you that a person that works hard can beat a prodigy, just like when Naruto-kun beat Neji." Lee responded to Sasuke's taunt. This got a reaction from the other members of Team 7.

"Even if I despise the Hyuuga clan, I know they're strong. There's no way a former dead last like dobe can beat a Hyuuga." Sasuke said, skeptical of the claim.

"I was the dead last of my graduation class but I'm not the person I used to be." Lee answered with conviction. Sasuke got into the Uchiha Interceptor stance. Gai signaled for the spar to begin. Sasuke rushed his opponent, only to realize that Lee was no longer there. Instead he was underneath the Uchiha and delivered a strong right punch to Sasuke's gut. The raven haired boy spitted out saliva as he skidded across the grounds.

Sasuke woozily got up, only to see Lee in front of him. Sasuke held his arms in a cross position to lessen the damage. Stopping his fist before the guard, Lee spun his right leg to smack Sasuke on the side. The Uchiha was able to regain his bearings and fired off a jutsu. "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**." The giant fireball was about to engulf Lee when he jumped in the air. Sasuke jumped up to intercept him in mid-air but received a face full of feet as Lee kicked him.

Sasuke smacked into the ground, wincing from the pain. Lee was about to follow through with a punch before Kakashi stopped his fist. "Winner Lee!" Gai said cheerfully while Sakura protested the decision. Sasuke got up to glare at Lee but was met with his sensei's stern gaze.

"Sasuke I hope you've learned a valuable lesson. Not everyone is going to praise or quiver when they hear your name. Most shinobi would try to kill you if you're lucky. Others will keep you alive so you can become a breeder." When Kakashi said the last part, everyone shivered in fear.

Sasuke quickly got out of his stupor. "I don't care about stupid lessons, all I need is to get stronger to kill a certain man. You're to train me to do that." Sasuke demanded. Kakashi smacked him on his head, making Sasuke tumble. Sakura was about to give her sensei a piece of her mind when Naruto held her back.

"Uchiha Sasuke, don't forget that I'm not only your sensei but your superior as well." Kakashi angrily responded and released some killing intent. "If you want me to train you, you're to politely ask. Your attitude and demeanor is going to cause us trouble when we go on missions. I'll not jeopardize this team so that one day you might go off and fight a stronger enemy on your own. Which could result in getting all of us killed because of your selfishness. The path of avenger is a dark one, where one lusts for power and forsakes everything else. The path you're following is just like Itachi's." Kakashi finished his lecture, remembering his former comrade.

Both Naruto and Sasuke flinched when they heard Itachi's name. "I'm nothing like him. He was a traitor." Sasuke growled out.

"People said that Itachi killed the Uchiha Clan because he wanted to test himself. He wanted to see how strong he was. You're going the same route as him. That path is full of loneliness, I should know because I was like you when I was younger." The one eyed Jonin confessed. This statement caused everyone but Gai to look at Kakashi in wonder. "When I was young, I was considered a prodigy. I graduated the academy at 5 and was a Chunin a year later. I worked tirelessly to get out of my father's shadow. I worried only about the missions instead of my comrades. On one mission, my teammate Uchiha Obito saved my life by sacrificing himself. That was the day when I realized he was my best friend but it was too late because he died protecting me. To this day, I regret not spending more time with my teammates instead of being alone all the time training." Kakashi finished his backstory.

Everyone was silent while Sasuke didn't know how to react. _'Itachi told me that I need to hate to kill him! Wait why am I even listening to him? He might've said that to make sure I never reach my full potential. I don't know what to think. I followed the path of an avenger since the massacre but what do I do now?_" Sasuke mused as his thoughts were scrambling in his head. Kakashi saw this and was glad that he was making the Uchiha doubt his ways.

Sasuke listlessly walked towards his team and sat on the ground. Sakura wanted to say something but she was grabbed by Naruto, who was shaking his head. Gai congratulated Lee on his victory but told him not to be overconfident since Sasuke only just got out of the Academy. "Okay now let's move on. Sakura and Tenten, please come forward." Kakashi announced.

**-Sakura vs Tenten-**

"I can't wait to fight a fellow Kunoichi of the Year. I hope you don't disappoint my expectations, Sakura-san." Tenten made idle chat.

"I'll beat you and Sasuke-kun will see how strong I am." Sakura yelled. Sasuke didn't show any reaction and silently watched the spar.

"Don't tell me you're a fan girl?" The brunette groaned. "Fan girls bring shame to the kunoichi name. Looks like I'll have to beat it out of you." Tenten brought out two kunai.

"Sakura, Tenten has deadly accuracy so make sure you deflect them instead of dodging." Naruto advised before his best female friend intervened.

"Shut up Naruto, whose side are you on?" Tenten barked to her best friend.

"I'm on my teammate's side of course." Naruto stated the obvious. The senseis chuckled at the conversation.

"Okay enough chatter, are you two ready?" Kakashi asked. Both girls nodded their heads. Kakashi dropped his raised hand and kunai flew into the air.

Tenten threw her kunai at Sakura, who deflected them with her own. "**Bunshin no Jutsu**." Three Sakuras appeared and rushed towards Tenten.

The bun girl smirked at the jutsu. "Let me tell you something useful, **Bunshins** don't have shadows." Tenten commented as she fired several shurikens at the real Sakura. The pink haired girl grunted in pain as two shurikens stuck her legs, making her collapse to the ground. She used her hands to catch her fall only to be meet by Tenten's knee to her chin. Sakura's vision faltered as she collapsed on the ground. "I hit you on the chin to make you slightly dazed. You should start training seriously if you want that Uchiha's attention. I think he only likes strong kunoichi and you're certainly not one." Tenten didn't know what she said was true but it should serve as a good motivator. "You should also stop dieting. We're kunoichi and we need energy to perform our tasks. You don't have to worry about losing your figure." Tenten finished as she walked to her team.

Kakashi was peeved that he lost his chance since he wanted to be the one to advise Sakura but decided that a fellow kunoichi's words had more of an impact. He glanced at Sakura's eyes and saw they now possessed a small fire within. "Sakura, we'll talk after the last spar." Kakashi told his student as he picked her up and laid her near Sasuke. "In the meantime, you two should watch Naruto and maybe your opinion of him as a former dead last will change." Kakashi suggested to the two as he also watched the match closely.

-**Neji vs Naruto-**

"It has been a while since we last spar seriously Naruto-san. I propose we only use Taijutsu since I want to see how far you've come." Neji got into his Juken stance while Naruto got into his Suifuto Tsubame stance. Naruto's stance was similar to Neji's except his arms were lax at his sides.

"Alright Neji, let's try not to kill each other." Naruto joked even though their blows could be fatal to each other. Gai raised his hand and the air was tense as everyone looked on. Gai's hand dropped down.

Both boys stood still, waiting for the other to move first. Neji initiated the attack by trying to strike Naruto in the chest with his right arm. Naruto parried the strike and countered, only for Neji to target Naruto's attacking arm with his left. The blonde, with a flick of the wrist, changed his course and attacked Neji's left elbow. Neji's elbow was shocked momentarily, causing his arm to limp before he could hit Naruto's tenketsu.

Naruto used his free hand to press the attack when Neji's right hand struck him twice in the side. The blond jumped away to avoid several more strikes to his tenketsu. Neji pursued and didn't give Naruto time to breath. Naruto ducked under the attack and deliver a blow to Neji's knee. The Hyuuga male's leg buckled and saw that the jinchuriki was about to give an open palm to his shoulder. Neji met the attack head on with his own open palm. Naruto was outclassed in power and his palm was forced back.

Naruto spun and swung his foot so that his heel would impact Neji's temple. Neji seized the opening and disabled Naruto's leg and in a quick motion, did the same to Naruto's arms. With only one working leg, Naruto found that he was unable to remain standing. "I yield." Naruto said as he was caught by Neji before he fell.

"Not bad, Naruto-san but you're not strong enough to challenge me yet." Neji said with a small smile.

Everyone was speechless at the fight between the two. Sasuke remembered that Naruto had used that style when going against Mizuki. The teacher was disabled in a couple of moves but Naruto was clearly outclassed by the Hyuuga. Sakura was shocked that the blonde was able to display such prowess against last year's Rookie of the Year. He was near the bottom in the class but he lasted longer than Sasuke and she did in their spars.

Kakashi was pleasantly surprised with his student. Most would be stupid to fight a Hyuuga in close quarters and rightly so. But Naruto was able to dodge and attack Neji even if it was only momentarily. _'Naruto's style seems similar to the Juken except that it targets pressure points. It still has some flaws but I'm unable to help. It'll be best to rely on Gai." _Kakashi thought while he began planning several exercises for his team to do. Gai laughed proudly as his students defeated his rival's even if it was under unfair circumstances.

Team 9 left the training ground to retrieve a mission and said their goodbyes. Kakashi turned to his battered students and gave a stern look. "As you can now see, you're not the strongest Genin and people can easily defeat you. Sasuke, you were overconfident in your abilities again and underestimated your opponent. You should never judge a shinobi by their appearance because it'll one day cost you." The silver haired Jonin lectured. Sasuke looked down, either in shame or anger, over Kakashi's words. No one was able to tell. "Sakura, of the three, you have the most to improve on. Thanks to your constant dieting, your body lacks the energy that it requires. You seem to possess great intelligence but you aren't applying it on the field. I hope you didn't expect one of us to rescue you, if you were in trouble during a mission. You have to be able to stand on your two feet." Sakura was crestfallen at the bashing she received from her sensei. "Naruto, I know that you've trained with Neji and that this was only a spar. Still, you shouldn't have engaged him in a Taijutsu battle. You were coaxed into fighting his area of expertise and was defeated. I see that you're quite intelligent so you should've battled with your strengths. You need to treat the spar as if it was real." Kakashi finished as Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "That being said, you three have immense potential. My training should help cultivate that potential into actual ability. Always remember that we're a team and we protect each other's back." Kakashi's eye turned to a 'U', indicating that he was smiling. His students brighten up and resolved to get stronger.

***Four Months Later***

Team 7 was waiting patiently for their client for their first C-rank mission. They were tasked in protecting the client while he built a bridge in Wave Country. Kakashi finally approved after his students constantly complained about the D-rank mission. The unit had begun gelling together to finish missions with efficiently. Sasuke had slowly opened up to the group even if it was short answers instead of grunts. Meanwhile Sakura was getting rid of her fan girlness and was getting serious about her career. Naruto was still noisy and loud, except when it came to missions. His attitude changed once they accepted a mission. Kakashi can honestly say he was proud of all three of them.

Over the past four months, all of their skills had improved, even Kakashi's. The Copy Nin had become lax in his training since retiring from ANBU. He was snapped out of his laziness when his students refused to follow a lazy sensei. That set up a funny situation where the team did missions without Kakashi for an entire week. Hiruzen had scolded Kakashi and nearly demanded for the misprint of Icha Icha: Violence back. Kakashi was now back to the form he had when he was in ANBU.

The Jonin had trained them in teamwork, chakra control and taught them elemental jutsu. They began chakra control training when the other two saw Naruto walking on a tree with his feet. They soon successful completed the water walking exercise. Sakura already finished the kunai balancing with Sasuke and Naruto close to finishing.

Sasuke was improving on the Uchiha Interceptor style by being more fluid. He was too rigid before and that cost him some speed. Sasuke had a major Raiton affinity with a minor Katon affinity. Kakashi was glad that one of his students' had an affinity for his primary element. Kakashi taught the Uchiha boy one fire jutsu: **Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique)** and one lightning jutsu: **Raiton: Rakurai no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt Technique).**

Sakura's element was Doton so Kakashi taught her an offensive and a defensive Jutsu: **Doton: Iwa Tounyuu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Rock Throw Technique** and **Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Rock Shield)**. Thanks to Sakura's excellent chakra control, she was admitted to the medical program. She was learning medical jutsu and received help from Naruto on the human anatomy. Her physical abilities were slowly getting better as she was no longer dieting.

Kakashi had yet to teach Naruto a single jutsu, due to the blonde's insistence that he received plenty of Ninjutsu from the Sandaime. The jinchuriki was working on mastering the E-Rank Jutsus he had received. Most of the time, however, Naruto worked on his chakra control since he had so much chakra. Concerning elemental training, he decided to work on Fuuton mastery first and had already completed the first level. Cutting the leaf solely with wind chakra took an entire month to complete and now he was focusing on making the leaf soggy solely with water chakra.

His Kenjutsu was getting better as he was now able to last several minutes against either Yugao or Hayate. His Taijutsu was still a work in process as he was finding it difficult to strike the pressure points accurately and with force. Naruto's Fuinjutsu stopped at level five since that was the last of Jiraiya's books. He was able to make his own simple seals but he had to wait for Jiraiya before he could dive in the more complex stuff. That being said, his seals were better than the ones sold in stores.

The door opened to reveal a grey haired bearded old man carrying a bottle of sake. Along with the bottle, he was carrying a traveling kit and a pointed hat. He wore a dark grey sleeveless shirt with matching pants. "So this is the team I've hired with my precious money." Tazuna sneered at Team 7.

"I assure you that my team can handle any bandits we may come across on the way back to Wave." Kakashi assured the client as he turned to his team. "You guys pack enough for a two weeks journey and meet us at the gate in 10 minutes." The Jonin ordered. The trio left to get their additional supplies while Kakashi escorted Tazuna to the main gates.

When they left, a Chunin came into the room with an urgent message. "Hokage-sama, all the invitations for the Chunin Exams have been accepted." The Chunin reported.

Hiruzen smiled before he processed what the Chunin had said. "Did you say ALL the invitations, meaning Iwa and Kumo as well?" Hiruzen asked, wanting some confirmation.

"Hai Hokage-sama. They've accepted as well while Kiri has asked for permission to attend." The Chunin told the Hokage.

"ANBU, call the council immediately and tell them that the matter is of upmost importance. I expect them to be in the meeting room in five minutes or there will be punishments." Hiruzen order the ANBU, who immediately left to gather the council members. The Chunin was quickly dismissed while Hiruzen left his office. The upcoming Chunin Exams might possibly be the first time one ever to have the five great shinobi nations participating.

**Reviews:**

**APieceOfPie4Everyone011 **– I explained in the PM but I'll explain here as well. Kakazu will be a difficult opponent for Naruto but Naruto might face him with a team. It's also possible that he might not even face him at all. I'm just loosely following the canon storyline.

**midnightblupuppy – **I'll try my best to.

**bankerjoe13 – **Thanks for voting.

**NinjaFang1331 **– Thanks for the support and this chapter answered your questions.

**Ryuujin96 **– I've looked up pressure point martial arts but they all portray it differently. I hope I do the style justice. Neji's attitude will slowly change as a person can't change overnight. I try to make this story as original as possible while following the canon loosely. Thanks for the votes and I also have a reason for the girls to share Naruto.

**Illuminated** – Thank you but the obstacles will come during and after the Chunin Exams. Heck, the next chapter might show that Naruto isn't strong. I don't know since I haven't written it yet. I try to portray Naruto as someone who's constantly underestimated so he could win.

**emilbootanimefreak – **You got your wish! Sakura and Sasuke will get stronger but they won't be godly strong. I plan to progress them slowly along with Naruto.

**Please Read my stuff** – I never watched/read Young Justice before. Sorry about not reading your stuff. Good luck with writing though. Thanks for reading my story. I'm a fan of Naruto stories that makes Naruto progress gradually so it reflects in my writing.

**BelleArcher **– I've actually read a lot of fanfiction with Shikamaru in an important role, Shino not so much. I think they'll help Naruto greatly since both are very smart. Thanks for reading.

**gual1 **– Thanks for the encouragement. Do you mind if I ask why you say byes at the end? Is that your thing? I'm really curious since I figured you would say bye instead of byes.

**BBWulf **– As much as there's potential in bashing Sasuke and Sakura, I would rather not. I prefer having them grow up.

**felixgi** – Um thanks for voting but you were only allowed two votes by reviews. You did get half your girls in the harem, if 'fun' was actually meant to be 'Fu'.

**Deltablacknaruto** – Thanks for the suggestions. I was already planning to use all of them but you actually gave me some help with the **Kaze Bunshin.** Thanks for that.

**Apedreitor **– Summons will be used more frequently since it's a C-Rank Jutsu. I honestly never understood why Naruto rarely used summons in canon. His perverted jutsu will come when he meets Jiraiya again. Jiraiya will actually help create the **Oiroke no Jutsu** this time around.

**ladygoddess8 **– Thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/11/16. The Root ANBU in the Wave Arc has changed to someone else.

**A.N.**

Many of my readers have reached out to me by either PMs or reviews and expressed their concerns about Naruto's ability to fight the opponents that appear after the time skip. After talking to several readers, I've decided to split up my story. 'Master of the Basics' will cover everything before the training trip with Jiraiya while the sequel will be about the training trip and everything after it. This story's plot will still be the same as Naruto will only learn C rank and under jutsus. The sequel will then focus on him learning the higher ranked jutsu.

I'll like to give personal shout outs to **Deltablacknaruto **and **Ryuujin96 **because they helped me decide how to proceed with this story. I'll try to edit my earlier chapters because several reviewers have said that they didn't understand which character was speaking. To the guest that told me that I'm not allowed to reply to reviews, I haven't read anywhere that states that I can't. Also I'm continuing my Fairy Tail story, **Team Cana **after a few fans requested that I continue it. That means I won't have a timetable for updates since I'm now writing two stories. Sorry about that but I hope to have your continued support.

**Chapter 7: The Mist Demon and the Ice Maiden**

Hiruzen walked at a brisk pace towards the council chambers. As he entered the room, the entire council was already seated and was waiting for the Hokage. On the right side were the six shinobi clan heads. On the left were the six civilian council members. At the top right sat Tsunade, a clan head as well as an elder. If Jiraiya was present, he would be situated at the top left. "Thank you all for coming on such a short notice. I've called the council to discuss the upcoming Chunin Exams. There's a chance that all five Great Shinobi Nations will be participating in it." Hiruzen said, immediately bringing up the matter so that it could be discussed.

Uproar erupted inside the chambers as everyone began speaking at once. The Chunin Exam could be the greatest or worst in history depending on how everything went. "Quiet!" The Hokage shouted to gather everyone's attention. "We're not little children; we're to discuss this in an orderly manner." Hiruzen's voice was one of authority.

Shikaku, the Nara Clan head, raised his hand to talk. "Hokage-sama, may I ask why Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo are coming to the Chunin Exams?" He inquired. "It's suspicious as they aren't our allies." Shikaku voiced his concern. The Hokage acknowledged the suspicion as a knock came from the door. Hiruzen told the person from behind the door to come in. Stepping into the room was the ANBU Commander, Dragon.

"Hokage-sama, we've just received a message from Daimyo-sama." Dragon informed. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow before accepting the parchment from Dragon. The Hokage read the contents and a frown formed on his face.

"Thank you Dragon, you may return to your post." The Sandaime dismissed the ANBU before returning his attention to the council. "To answer your question Shikaku, it seems that our Daimyo asked the other Daimyos to make their villages participate in the Chunin Exam. Daimyo-sama wants to make the exams the biggest event in recent history. He succeeded in convincing the other Daimyos and that's why Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa will be participating." Hiruzen explained.

Several council members wanted to protest the decision but they knew it would be futile. No one, not even the Hokage, could override a Daimyo's orders. "Since we now know why they're participating, we'll need to revise our plans for the Chunin Exam." Hiruzen said. Everyone mentally sighed as they knew it was going to be a long day.

***Back with Team 7***

Team 7 plus Tazuna were walking towards their destination. The shinobi were currently in a diamond formation with Tazuna in the middle. Kakashi manned the top, Sasuke and Sakura on the sides, and Naruto in the back. The kunoichi was trying to strike a conversation with her crush but he kept on giving short replies. The blonde boy was asking Tazuna questions about Wave to get a general idea of the area. The Jonin was, of course, reading his favorite book.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you expect enemy shinobi on this mission?" The kunoichi asked her sensei. Kakashi lifted his head from his book and turned to face her.

"Generally during a C-Rank mission, you'll only encounter bandits and thieves. If we were to encounter rogue shinobi, this mission will be upgraded to a B-Rank mission." The Jonin answered. Both he and Naruto noticed a slight flinch from Tazuna. The silver haired man eyed his client suspiciously but decided that it wasn't anything important.

As they continued walking, Naruto saw a puddle on the side of the road. _'Why is there a puddle when the ground isn't soggy?_' The jinchuriki wondered since the ground underneath his feet was dry. The blonde turned to his sensei to voice his suspicion but Kakashi gave him an eye smile to assure that everything was alright. Just as Kakashi turned back around, chains wrapped his body. The chains tighten around the Jonin's body and the silver haired man was ripped into shreds.

The Genins were shocked as they turned their attentions to the assailants. Both males had a Kirigakure hitai-ate and an oxygen mask covering the lower half of their face. One of them had a single horn on his hitai-ate and wore a dark cloak over his camo clothing. A gauntlet was attached to his right arm. The other man had two horns on his hitai-ate and wore a tan tunic over his camo clothing. A gauntlet on his left arm was connected to his partner's. Sakura let out a scream while Naruto and Sasuke prepared for action. "Sakura, snap out it and go with Plan S." Sasuke yelled, getting her out of her stupor.

Over the course of the four months, Team 7 had made several battle strategies to use when facing different enemies. Plan S was used when Kakashi was unable to assist in battle and there was more than one enemy. The person nearest the client was responsible for protection while providing range support. The other two would stall the enemies to give Kakashi time to recover.

Gozu and Meizu pulled their chains back to them and rushed towards Tazuna. Sakura, although shocked, got in front of Tazuna and fired her jutsu. "**Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Rock Shield)**." The pinkette raised an earth wall a few feet in front of the two missing-nins, causing Gozu and Meizu to split in two different directions. Naruto and Sasuke intercepted them as they split.

"**Raiton: Rakurai no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt Technique)**." Sasuke fired a lightning bolt at Meizu while Naruto threw an explosive tag at Gozu. Both enemy shinobis jumped in the air to dodge the attacks.

"**Doton: Iwa Tounyuu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Rock Throw Technique)**." Naruto and Sakura both shouted as two fist sized rocks formed, hitting both enemy shinobi in mid-air. The missing nins fell from the sky and were quickly wrapped in chains. Everyone looked to see that it was Kakashi who had tied them up.

"Great job team. Even though you initially panicked, you were able to regain your bearings and defeat the enemies while keeping the client safe." Kakashi praised his team as he tied the missing-nin duo to a tree. "Now I'll like our client to explain why we have two Chunin level missing shinobi attacking us. Our job description was to protect you from bandits." The Konoha Jonin glared at Tazuna. The bridge builder shrunk under the gaze and quickly told them about the situation in Wave and about Gato.

"I'm sorry for lying but you have to understand that I had to do whatever it took to help my country." Tazuna said desperately. He needed them to come with him. He was his country's best hope in finding help.

"Because of your lying, my squad could've gotten killed. Were you going to take responsibility for their lives?" Kakashi asked angrily. He wasn't going to risk his team because the client decided to give them misinformation. Tazuna looked down in shame. He had planned to guilt trip the team into going with him but he forgot that even ninjas were human. They didn't want to die as much as the next person.

"Kakashi-sensei, I would like to continue this mission. It'll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I abandoned the mission and allowed a tyrant to rule their country." Naruto told his sensei. Tazuna looked up with hope in his eyes. Meanwhile, Kakashi looked over his team and debated whether to continue the mission.

"Do you two feel the same way as Naruto?" The Copy Nin asked his other two students. Sasuke nodded since he didn't want a failed mission on his track record. Although hesitating at first, Sakura nodded since she wanted to help the country. Kakashi inwardly sighed as his team outnumbered him. "Tazuna-san, you're lucky that my lovely Genins have decided to continue this mission." The Jonin said with an eye smile.

Tazuna bowed and thank the Genins for their kind hearts. "Kakashi-sensei, I think we should ask for backup." Naruto suggested to his sensei. Kakashi nodded at the suggestion. "I agree since we're likely to face a Jonin level missing-nin." Kakashi summoned Pakkun as he was talking. "Although I'm curious why you suggested us to request backup though." He remarked as he handed a parchment to Pakkun.

Kakashi gave the ninken his orders and Pakkun dispelled to send the message to Konoha. "These two are Gozu and Meizu, missing shinobi from Kirigakure. According to the bingo book, they escaped Kirigakure with Momochi Zabuza after they failed to assassinate the Yondaime Mizukage. It's safe to assume that they're still working with Zabuza." Naruto gave his deduction.

Kakashi was surprised at Naruto's analytic skills to guess they would face Zabuza. It was better to know your opponent rather than being in the dark. "Great job Naruto but let's ask those two to make sure." The Jonin sensei said as he turned and walked into the forest where the captured duo were. "I'll ask you this once, who are you working for?" Kakashi asked threateningly. Both Gozu and Meizu turned away and ignored the Konoha-nin.

"Kakashi-sensei you aren't doing it right. Look this is what the crazy snake lady from T&amp;I told me." Naruto said as he gestured Kakashi to bend down. When Kakashi bent down to Naruto's height, the blonde began whispering into the Jonin's ear. Gozu and Meizu watched as Kakashi's visible eye turned to shock. It quickly morphed to disgust and then settled on a sadistic expression. The missing-nin were horrified. The thoughts of what the boy was telling the Jonin scared them.

"W-wait we'll tell you! We work for Gato and he hired us to kill the bridge builder." Gozu quickly replied.

"Are you working alone or is someone else working with you?" Kakashi asked while keeping the same expression.

"We're working with Zabuza and his apprentice." Meizu answered as he cowered under Kakashi's gaze. The silver haired man then gave them an eye smile.

"Thanks for the help boys, ANBU will arrive shortly to pick you up." Kakashi said in a friendly tone as he and Naruto walked back to the others. _'Man all Naruto told me to do was change my facial expressions and those two were shitting themselves.' _Kakashi mused as he made a mental note not to piss off his student.

The group continued their journey as they discussed their plans on what to do when they encounter Zabuza and the apprentice. "Alright team lets go with this." Kakashi announced. "I'll create four **Raikou Bunshins** (**Lightning Clones)** and have them **Henge** into Tazuna and you three. Sasuke and Sakura will stay behind with Tazuna while Naruto and I meet the enemy. Naruto will hide in the woods while I engage the enemy. After I manage to successfully separate the enemies, Naruto will attach his stun seal on one of them and help me attack the other one." Kakashi explained the plan to his team.

After the Jonin finished, he saw the scowl on Sasuke's face. "Why does the dobe get to do it and not me?" Sasuke asked in disapproval. "I'm the Rookie of the Year and an elite Uchiha. He isn't better than me." The Uchiha fumed at not being picked. Sakura wanted to come to Sasuke's defense but she found it hard to. She thought Kakashi's plan was solid as Naruto was famous for his stealth ability.

"Maa Maa, no one here said that Naruto's better than you. He simply has a certain skill set that helps pull off this plan. I trust that Naruto's capable of pulling this off. If you don't approve, then maybe you have a better idea that we can use." Kakashi said as he didn't want to deal with Sasuke's temper.

"I say that we just face them head on. I'll take on the apprentice while Kakashi-sensei takes on Zabuza. The dobe and Sakura will protect Tazuna while providing backup." Sasuke explained his plan to the group.

'_You would think he realized that Naruto isn't a dobe by now. He's too caught up in his pride and here I thought the team was finally breaking through to him.' _Kakashi believed as he frowned at his student. "Let's take a vote. Who thinks we should go with Sasuke's plan?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke instantly raised his hand and waited for Sakura's hand to go up. Although hesitantly, the kunoichi slowly put her hand up to make her crush happy.

Kakashi frowned at this action. _'Old habits never truly die. When we get to somewhere safe, I'll need to talk to them individually again.' _The Jonin sensei mused. Kakashi was glad that his mask covered his frowning face. "Tazuna-san, since it's even, can I ask what plan you prefer?" Kakashi asked. Tazuna was caught like a deer in headlights.

"Um, I prefer the one that offers me more protection." The bridge builder replied since he wasn't paying attention. The team deadpanned as both plans essentially offered the same two Genin protection.

"Fine, we'll go with Sasuke's plan but if it backfires, you're going to be punished." Kakashi submitted since he didn't want to deal with it any longer. The Uchiha smirked at his victory and settled back into his post. Naruto didn't really comment as he observed his surroundings. Sakura was unsure if she made the right decision.

They made their way to a fisherman who took them across the water. As the boat weaved through the fog, a bridge came into view. "Wow, is that the bridge you're building Tazuna-san?" Naruto asked quietly.

"She's a thing of beauty, isn't she? When this bridge is finished, Gato will no longer have a monopoly over us." Tazuna replied with a voice full of hope. Team 7 quietly admired the man's work.

After a couple of minutes, they landed on the shore and continued their journey to Wave. As they were walking, Kakashi sensed two presences ahead. "Stop, get into Manji Formation." Kakashi ordered everyone to halt. The Genin formed a triangle with Tazuna in the middle. "You can come out now." Kakashi called to the presences ahead.

Soon a towering figure came from the clearing. The man wore his Kirigakure hitai-ate sideways on his head, blocking his pitch black hair. He was shirtless with a blue belt going across his shirt, which held his large sword. As a bottom, he wore blue striped pants that went up to his belly. In addition, two brown and white arm warmers were worn, along with matching colored leg warmers. The most notable accessory, however, was the bandages that obscured the lower part of his face. "No wonder Gozu and Meizu failed, they were up against **Sharingan no Kakashi**." Zabuza commented as he appeared from the fog.

Sasuke was startled by the mention of the moniker. _'He has a Sharingan!? That's should be impossible since all Uchiha are dead except for me and the traitor.' _The raven haired boy thought.The Uchiha boy wanted to inquire but decided it wasn't the appropriate time. Naruto knew about it since Kakashi was in the bingo book while Sakura slowly came into realization of what the moniker meant.

"Momochi Zabuza, **Kirigakure no Kijin (Demon of the Hidden Mist)**, we've been expecting you. Your friend can come out also." The silver haired Jonin said as a masked-nin appeared next to Zabuza. The masked shinobi wore a green pinstriped outfit that stopped at their knees. Above the pinstriped outfit was a short sleeved blue haori with white trimmings. A brown sash tied the two outfits together. The mask was porcelain white with two eyeholes, a red wavy design, and the Kirigakure symbol. The masked-nin had their jet black hair tied in a white bun with two bangs framing the side of the face.

"I'm impressed that you were able to detect Haku. His stealth is at least Jonin level." Zabuza praised since he had personally trained Haku so they could avoid hunter-nin.

"Sorry but I regularly go up against someone whose stealth is better. You needed to conceal your presence more." Kakashi said as lifted up his hitai-ate to reveal the Sharingan.

"I feel privileged that you've already revealed the Sharingan." Zabuza remarked. He decided that the time for talking was over and unleashed his jutsu. "**Ninpon: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden in the Mist Technique)**.

Mist surrounded the area and visibility was limited to a few feet. Kakashi scanned the mist for Zabuza or Haku, but the mist was making it difficult. The former Kiri swordsman unleashed his killing intent to scare his opponents. Tazuna and the Genins began to shake in fear. The bridge builder's knees threaten to give out but he was held up by a slightly shaking Naruto.

"Oh now that's quite impressive. One of your Genins seems to be handling my killing intent much better than the other two." Zabuza commented as his booming voice echoed around them. "Too bad, it won't stop me from killing the bridge builder." The bandaged man appeared in the middle of the group.

Kakashi turned his head around to get to his team when senbons flew towards him. The Jonin dodged but was unable to get to the group in time. Zabuza smirked as he lifted his sword and prepared to rotate 360 degrees. The blonde boy realized what was about to happen and pushed Tazuna out of harm's way.

"**Raiton: Seiteki Suji no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Static Strings Technique)**." Naruto shouted his technique as electric strings sprouted from his fingertips. It was the D-Rank Raiton jutsu that the Sandaime had gave him. He coiled the strings around Kubikiriboncho and was able to momentarily halt the motion. Using the opening, Sakura and Sasuke leapt away from Zabuza. As the strings snapped under the force, Naruto jumped away and landed next to Tazuna. The former Kiri swordsman finished his rotation, only for no one to be in his radius.

"You lucky son of a bitch." Zabuza growled out as Kakashi appeared in front of him with kunais in his hands. Zabuza blocked the initial attack but was punctured by the second kunai. Zabuza's form dissolved into water to reveal a **Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)**. Haku appeared behind Kakashi with senbons at the ready.

Haku was intervened when Sakura raised a rock slab in front of Kakashi's back. "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**." Sasuke released a fireball at the masked-nin, who dodged the attack and escaped back into the mist. Zabuza used that moment to appear in front of Kakashi and sliced him with Kubikiriboncho. The Copy Nin's upper and lower body separated as water splashed on Zabuza's face. The missing-nin's eyes widen as he realized that Kakashi was a **Mizu Bunshin. **The Konoha Jonin pressed a kunai to Zabuza's throat.

"You should give up, you can't beat me." Kakashi advised his opponent. Zabuza smirked under his bandages at Kakashi's threat.

"**Suiton:** **Sensatsu Suishō (Water Release: Thousand Flying Water Needle of Death)**." A voice came from the mist as thousands of needles pierced Zabuza and Kakashi. Zabuza dissolved into water to reveal another **Mizu Bunshin **while Kakashi coughed out blood. He was able to avoid most of the needles thanks to the Sharingan but he was still struck at several vital points.

"Kakashi you should be more aware of your surroundings." Zabuza said as he and Haku stepped out of the mist. "Give me the bridge builder and your team lives." The missing-nin demanded. Haku's eyes roamed the environment as she noticed something odd.

"Zabuza-sama, the blond is gone." The masked-nin warned. Just as Haku pointed out the oddity to her master, Naruto appeared behind them from his **Kakuremino no Jutsu (Cloak of Invisibility Technique)**. The blonde attached his improved stun seal on Zabuza and fled before Haku could retaliate. The mist swordsman realized that he was unable to move. In addition to being stronger than the former seal, the new one stunned the person for four days.

"Maybe you should take your own advice Zabuza." Kakashi said with a small smile. Haku was prepared to retaliate when a tanto threaten to slice her. She dodged the attack as a blue haired boy came from nowhere. Haku realizing the danger, grabbed her master and used **Shunshin** to disappear.

As the mist dispersed, the Root ANBU sheathed his tanto. "Root ANBU Shin, reporting as reinforcement." Shin said cheerfully, reporting to Kakashi. Everyone else sans Naruto was wondering who the boy was. Sakura and Sasuke also wondered what Root was.

Kakashi acknowledged the Root ANBU before turning to Tazuna. "Tazuna-san is your house close?" The silver haired Jonin asked.

"Yeah we're almost there." The old man answered. Kakashi nodded as his body gave out. Luckily Naruto and Shin caught him before he fell.

"You could've gotten here a little sooner." Naruto chided to his older brother.

"Hey, I got here as fast as I could." Shin defended as Sakura checked up on her sensei.

"I believe he's suffering from chakra exhaustion and temporary paralysis from the needles." Sakura informed as she finished analyzing Kakashi. The boys nodded as they dragged Kakashi's bigger body to Tazuna's house. In five minutes, they arrived at their destination. Tazuna knocked on the door of his home.

"Who is it?" A woman's voice asked from behind the door.

"Tsunami, it's me. Open the door, we have someone wounded." Tazuna said as a long blue haired woman, who wore a pink short shirt and blue skirt, opened the door.

"Welcome home, father." Tsunami welcomed as she hugged Tazuna. She then noticed the boys holding an older male.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but do you have a room that we can borrow?" Sakura asked politely. Tsunami directed her towards the room as the boys lugged Kakashi onto the bed. Shin and Naruto exited the room as Sakura checked over the Jonin's body for any injuries. Tsunami went into the kitchen to fetch a bowl of water and a towel. She handed the bowl to Sakura, who dipped the towel and placed it on Kakashi's forehead. The kunoichi was unable to do anything else as she had yet to learn medical jutsu.

They exited the room so Kakashi could sleep in peace. The two females returned to the kitchen where Tazuna was drinking sake. "Father, you've just come back and you're drinking already." Tsunami complained.

"I was just in a life and death situation. I believe I have the right to drink." Tazuna said as he chugged the bottle. Sakura surveyed the room to find her teammates on the couch. Naruto was chugging a glass of water while Sasuke was staring at his glass. Shin was leaning against the wall while surveying the house.

"Dobe, I need to talk to you in private." Sasuke said as he exited the house. Naruto looked at Sakura, who had the same confused expression. The blond got up from the couch and exited the house as well. He spotted Sasuke leaning against a tree that was providing shade.

"What did you want to talk about?" The jinchuriki asked as he sat down underneath the shade. Sasuke's words refused to come out as he swallowed a lump of air.

"I want to apologize." Sasuke replied. Naruto swerved his head to face the Uchiha and looked at him in disbelief. "Don't interrupt me and let me finish. I let my pride get to me and it almost cost all of our lives. When Zabuza released his killing intent, my body froze in fear. We would've died if you hadn't stopped his sword. Then when Kakashi was injured, you were able to stop Zabuza while I stood there and watched." The Uchiha boy shoved his pride down the drain to say his next words. "I'm sorry for almost killing us and thank you for saving us N-Naruto." The Uchiha bowed slightly to his teammate. The blonde was in shock since Sasuke called him Naruto and not dobe.

"No problem, that's what teammates are for." Naruto grinned as he accepted the apology. Sasuke quickly straighten up and began leaving.

"Don't think I'm going to apologize again Dobe." Sasuke said with a small smile. The raven haired boy went back inside the house and left Naruto alone. The whiskered boy was in a happy mood as Sasuke was slowly opening up to him. Shin came out of the house to prepare traps, in case Zabuza and Haku planned to attack. Naruto got up and began helping.

***In Zabuza's and Haku's Hidden Cave***

"That fucking brat, I'm going to kill him!" Zabuza cursed as he laid motionless on the bed. Haku was unable to release the seal due to its complexity. She diagnosed his body to see what was wrong.

"Zabuza-sama the seal seems to restricting your movements. I have no clue when it'll dispel as I've never seen this type of seal before." She informed her master.

Zabuza growled at the news. "When do you think I can move again?" He inquired.

"It could be from a few hours to an entire week. It's impossible to tell." Haku replied. While she understood a few things about seals, this one was beyond her level.

Zabuza gritted his teeth as his frustrations boiled. Suddenly, a trio walked into their cave. "Ah the great **Kirigakure no Kijin **was defeated by mere shinobi. I expected the bridge builder to be dead by now. I guess I was wrong." Gato commented as he got closer.

"There weren't just some shinobi, **Sharingan no Kakashi **was there!" Zabuza barked from his prone position.

"I don't care if Kami was there. I hired you to kill the bridge builder and I expected you to finish the job." Gato said as he inched closer to Zabuza. Haku was suddenly behind him with a needle to his throat.

"I suggest you leave before I kill you." She threatened the little man. Zori and Waraji attempted to pull out their swords but was halted when another Haku appeared behind them. "I suggest you don't do that either." The masked-nin recommended the two swordsmen, who also had senbon touching their necks.

"Don't think that this is over." Gato said as he and his men scurried away from the cave. After they left, Haku's **Mizu Bunshin **collapsed into a puddle of water.

"That was foolish Haku. I'm able to handle Gato even in this state." Zabuza scolded Haku for her actions. It was a lie as he couldn't even lift a finger.

Haku, of course, knew that as well. "I know Zabuza-sama but we still need him alive for your ambitions. If he's dead, we won't get the money you need." She advised her master. The master and tool sat there in silence as they slowly recovered.

***A day later***

Kakashi's eye slowly opened as he adjusted to the sudden intrusion of light. He looked around the room to find Shin sitting on a chair next to his bed. "Looks like you're up Hatake-san. Let me go get the others." The Root ANBU said as he left the room. After a minute, he returned with the rest of Team 7. Sakura did a quick diagnostic on Kakashi's body.

"He still suffering from chakra exhaustion but he should be fully recovered in a week." Sakura said as she finished. Kakashi slowly got upright from his bed with the kunoichi's assistance.

"Naruto, how long does your seal last?" The Jonin sensei acquired.

The blonde frowned as he informed the news. "The seal only lasts around four days. Zabuza shouldn't be able to move until then." Naruto informed. Kakashi had hoped it would last longer but knew he couldn't complain.

"For now, here's the plan. Sasuke and Shin will guard Tazuna when he's building the bridge. Meanwhile Naruto and Sakura will be stationed here, just in case someone tries to attack his family. It will stay that way for three days. On the fourth day we'll come up with a battle plan. As punishment, Sasuke will be Naruto's and Sakura's guard duty." Kakashi said as he expected an outburst. The Uchiha silently nodded before exiting the room. Shin followed him as the two prepared their supplies to guard Tazuna.

"Okay Naruto and Sakura, I realized I've been neglecting you two for Sasuke and I would like to apologize. I'm teaching about teamwork yet I'm favoring a certain student over the others. For that, I would like to say I'm sorry and I deeply regret it." Kakashi apologized while bowing as much as he could. Sakura and Naruto smiled at each other and accepted their sensei's apology.

"I have roughly three days to teach you guys something. Sakura, I know that I've taught you an offensive and defensive jutsu for your Doton affinity. You have excellent chakra control and is in the medical program. You've served well as our team's medic and support but I think we should focus on your weakness. You have a lack of confidence in yourself and your Taijutsu is that of an academy student. I'm going to help increase your physical abilities while teaching you some katas from styles that I know." Kakashi said as he received a nod from Sakura.

"Naruto, to be honest, I don't know much of your skills. I know about your Taijutsu, Fuinjutsu, and stealth abilities. That's about it." The Jonin admitted. He hadn't intentionally ignored Naruto for the others. The blonde was very independent, making it easy to leave him to his own devices.

"I was taught Kenjutsu by Hayate-sensei. We made an original style based of **Konoha Ryu (Leaf Style). **My Kenjutsu style is called **Kage Iai Ryu (Shadow Quick Draw Style) **and it's basically a hit and run style that emphasizes my stealth ability. I know the basic academy jutsus along with the five D-rank jutsus that Jiji gave me. I've mastered the academy jutsus as well as the first level of wind mastery. I'm currently working on the first level of water mastery." Naruto explained his skills.

Sakura was confused what Naruto meant at the end while Kakashi was shocked with the blonde's repertoire of abilities. "Can you tell me what jutsus you know, besides the Academy ones?" Kakashi asked.

"They are: **Fuuton: Hanpatsu Kaze no Jutsu (Retrieving Wind Technique),** **Suiton:** **Mizu Kagami no Jutsu (Water Mirror Technique), Raiton: Seiteki Suji no Jutsu (Static Strings Technique), Katon: Ichi (One), Doton: Iwa Tounyuu no Jutsu (Rock Throw Technique)**." Naruto told his sensei.

'_All those jutsus are supplementary besides the Doton jutsu. __**Hanpatsu no Jutsu**__ is mainly used to pull objects closer. __**Mizu Kagami no Jutsu**__ is used see what's around you. __**Ichi **__is used to light small flames. __**Seiteki Suji no Jutsu**__ simply creates wires made up of electricity but Naruto was able to use it to temporarily stop Zabuza's Kubikiriboncho. Naruto seems to find creative uses for them." _Kakashi silently thought.

"I'm impressed that you know jutsus from five different elements. This will make it easier for you to learn the jutsu I'm going to teach you. I think your weak point is that you currently don't have a defense jutsu or an offensive jutsu. I have some jutsus that will complement your style while sort of addressing both issues. I'm going to teach you all five elemental Bunshins." Kakashi said as he gave him an eye smile.

"That's great Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto roared in excitement. "I wanted to learn it when I saw you and Zabuza use **Mizu Bunshin**!" The jinchuriki exclaimed. He had been previously offered the elemental bunshins by Yugao but at the time he hadn't master the **Bunshin no Jutsu.**

"Alright let's get some breakfast before we head off to train." The Jonin said as he was helped up by his students. They ate breakfast with Tsunami and Inari since Tazuna had already left for the bridge. Inari was glaring at the shinobi throughout the entire breakfast. Kakashi asked Tsunami if she could provide him with a crutch when they finished eating. The blue haired woman gave him a leftover one that Tazuna used when he had injured his foot. The shinobi trio went into the woods to train.

"Alright I'll explain the difference of each Bunshins so make sure you listen. Sakura you should listen as well since you'll be able to make **Iwa Bunshin**." Kakashi addressed his students. "Unlike regular bunshins, elemental bunshins can attack as if they're real. They only possess a tenth of the power of the original though. That being said, they have a variety of uses such as reinforcements and diversions. If they go too far from the original, they'll dispel so think carefully before using them." Kakashi explained before he continued.

"All elemental bunshins are different in their abilities. **Kaze Bunshin **is faster than the other bunshins. **Mizu Bunshin **is more evasive since they have more flexibility **Raikou Bunshin **is more powerful with Ninjutsu techniques. **Kaji Bunshin **is the stronger version of the other bunshins. **Iwa Bunshin **is the most durable as they are able to survive two attacks before dispelling. Each Bunshin is capable of performing a single jutsu of their element but only if the original knows it as well." Kakashi finished his explanation.

Both Sakura and Naruto processed this new information. They looked at their sensei when they finished thinking and Kakashi taught them the hand seals. Naruto started with the **Kaze Bunshin **while Sakura worked on the **Iwa Bunshin**. After a couple of hours, Naruto continued to train on the elemental bunshins while Sakura was performing katas from different Taijutsu styles. While watching Sakura train, Kakashi thought of an idea for her but it would have to wait until they were back in Konoha.

Tazuna returned home as the sun was setting with an annoyed Sasuke and happy Shin. Apparently Shin's constant talking was beginning to get on the Uchiha's nerves. Naruto and Sakura finished their training and went upstairs to get washed up. The dinner was peaceful as Naruto complimented Tsunami's cooking. Tazuna and Kakashi made idle chat about a variety of topics. Sakura, Shin, and Sasuke talked about what Root was. The Root ANBU was allowed to divulge information to allied shinobi if they served as reinforcement. All the chatter was interrupted when Inari slammed his small hands on the table. His blue and white striped hat threatened to fall off of his black hair.

"How can you laugh and joke around when you're all going to die?" Inari shouted at the shinobi. "All the training you do is pointless against Gato because he's going to kill you. I bet none of you know how hard life really is." Inari berated Team 7 and Shin. Sakura was confused at the sudden outburst. Shin and Kakashi ate while tuning out the kid's words. Sasuke and Naruto were pissed but they were able to control their temper.

Inari stormed off and went to his room. Tsunami got up and went after him. Everyone continued to eat when Sakura spotted a photo on the wall. "Tazuna-san why is part of that picture cut off?" She asked. Tazuna shook his head when the Genin asked. The pinkette realized that it was a sore topic so she tried to dismiss it.

"That person was my husband and Inari's stepfather." Tsunami said as she reappeared. The woman told the shinobi about Kaiza and what Gato did to him. At the end of the tale, everyone was solemn and silently finished dinner. As Team 7 was helping Tsunami clean up, Shin went up to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-san, I have a proposal on how to deal with Zabuza." The Root member told the Jonin. Kakashi's visible eye widen as he took in what he was told.

"We can talk about it after we help finish cleaning up." Kakashi told the Root agent. After everything was cleaned, Team 7 plus Shin went into Kakashi's room. The silver haired sensei briefed his team that Shin had a proposal.

"My plan is for us to kidnap Gato and persuade Zabuza to cancel his contract. Gato's a shrewd man and is known for not keeping his end of the deal. If we can find evidence that Gato's trying to cheat Zabuza, we can avoid a confrontation. Even if we don't find any, we have information that Zabuza would like to know. In Zabuza's bingo book entry, it states that he fought the Yondaime Mizukage in order to overthrow him. He failed and has been constantly hounded by hunter-nins since. Although not many people know this, the rebels have successfully defeated the Mizukage and won the civil war. He would then have less of an incentive to actually fight now that he can return home." Shin told them the gist of his plan.

"Okay. That sounds good but how are you planning to execute this plan?" Kakashi asked with curiosity. Truthfully the Jonin was thankful for the plan as Kakashi wasn't sure he would be able to recover in time.

"Like most Root members, I'm trained in espionage and stealth. It should take me a few days to pinpoint Gato's location and how much forces he has with him. I'll also be able to dig up some information that could be useful to us. We have three people here that I'm confident that they can sneak in and grab Gato without being detected." Shin said as he pointed to Naruto, Kakashi, and himself.

Team 7 started to laugh, much to Shin's confusion. Naruto seeing that his older brother was wondering why they were laughing, decide to tell him. "You see, your plan is similar to the one Kakashi-sensei came up with earlier. It's just ironic that we're going to do that kind of plan in the end." Naruto explained.

Shin nodded even though he didn't really understand. He went back to discussing the plan to Team 7. "After we kidnap Gato, we wait until Zabuza appears on the bridge since it would take a while for him to recover. We then try to negotiate with him and if that don't work, we'll have to fight them." Shin concluded.

"Okay, for now we'll follow this plan so go ahead and start scouting. Until then, we'll train." Kakashi said as he dismissed his team for the night. Naruto stayed behind and asked the Jonin if he could go train. The Copy Nin agreed as long as the blonde returned before sun up tomorrow. The blonde agreed and left the house to head into the woods. Naruto worked on the elemental bunshins until he was able to effortlessly make the hand signs. He promptly passed out on the grass from exhaustion and fell asleep.

***Morning***

Haku slowly walked in the woods to gather herbs for Zabuza's wounds. She had exchanged her shinobi gear for a pink kimono that had a dark red swirl design and red trimmings. The white sash that held the kimono in place hid several senbons. Her black hair hung loosely instead of being tied up. Around her neck was a pitch black choker, a present from her master.

As the kunoichi arrived to an open clearing, she spotted yellow grass. Haku was confused by the sight so she walked closer until she saw that the yellow grass was actually human hair. She immediately recognized the shade of yellow belonging to the Konoha-nin that she had fought.

Naruto was already awake when he heard footsteps walking towards him. The steps were quiet like a trained shinobi's. The figure stopped a couple of feet from Naruto as if they were examining him. They were now a few inches away from him. The blonde was preparing to use **Kawarimi** in case he was attacked. "Hey, you shouldn't be sleeping out here." A soft voice called out to Naruto.

Naruto opened his eyes to see a feminine face staring at him. Naruto lightly blushed since he had never been woken up by a female before. "Sorry I was training last night and I must have passed out." The jinchuriki said while he examined the female in front of him. "What are you doing out here so early? It's dangerous for civilians, especially with Gato around." Naruto asked to get a reaction.

"I'm collecting herbs for my friend that's injured. Since it's early in the morning, I don't have to worry about Gato." Haku half lied to Naruto.

"Well how about I help you?" Naruto offered to which Haku accepted. She showed him what herb to look for and the two spent five minutes gathering the herbs. The blonde placed the herbs he gathered into Haku's basket. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, it's nice to meet you Haku-san." Naruto introduced himself with a grin.

Haku promptly froze in place when he said her name. "I'm sorry but Haku isn't my name. I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else." Haku replied nervously.

"No need to put up the act anymore. I knew you were the hunter-nin from the other day when you approached me. Your footsteps are too quiet to be a civilian's. You're gathering herbs to help soothe Zabuza's wounds and it explains why you aren't afraid of Gato. What I want to know is why you didn't attack me when I was asleep?" Naruto asked as he picked apart Haku's civilian act.

Resigning to her fate, Haku sat down on the soft grass. "I'm currently carrying a few senbons on me. Even if I was to attack you and seriously injure you, your team might be able to track me back to my hideout. If that were to happen, I'll be forced to fend your team off by myself. That's why attacking you would be too risky." Haku replied as Naruto sat on the grass as well.

"I notice you said injure not kill. I know for sure that there are several areas where a human could be attacked and killed even by a senbon. After all, I've studied human anatomy so I should know." Naruto said with a grin. The kunoichi was surprised at the blonde's knowledge.

"You're correct." Haku nodded. "Even though I'm a shinobi, I don't enjoy killing. I prefer to neutralize my opponents so they can't retaliate. I must say, I didn't peg you as an intellectual type." The ice user chuckled slightly, forgetting that she was talking to the enemy.

"I get that a lot." He replied, scratching the back of his head. "I had to train my brain and body constantly to be where I am today. I wasn't always this knowledgeable." Naruto said softly as he remembered Mikoto.

"Why do you strive to become stronger?" Haku asked before continuing. "Do you have a goal you're trying to attain?"

Naruto thought for a few seconds. "I guess the reason I initially wanted to be stronger was to become Hokage. In my village, I was always ignored for one reason or another. I wanted to become Hokage so that everyone will acknowledge me. Slowly people are starting to acknowledge my existence. Now I want to become Hokage as a promise to my sensei. Plus I told the old man I'm going to take his job." Naruto said as a smile grew on his face.

She nodded at his words. "The reason I want to become strong is to protect my precious people. If they weren't in my life, I wouldn't know how to live. I believe a person will grow stronger, the more they want to protect their precious people." Haku stated her reason. The blonde liked the reason as it made sense to him.

"You know that makes a lot of sense. I'm starting to have people that are precious to me and I don't want them to be hurt. The only way I can prevent them from being hurt is to become stronger." Naruto said as he smiled at Haku. They sat in comfortable silence as the sun continued to rise in the sky. Haku got up from her position and grabbed the basket.

"It was nice to talk to you Naruto-san but I have to go before Zabuza-sama gets worried." Haku bowed slightly and turned to leave.

"Tell Zabuza that we don't have to fight. The civil war in Kirigakure is over." He informed, shocking Haku with the news. "He has no reason to hide from hunter-nins any longer. He can go home if he wishes. If he doesn't want to go back, I'm pretty sure Konoha will accept you two. I personally know the Hokage so I can vouch for you guys." Naruto told her.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked. "For all you know, Zabuza-sama is a blood thirsty killer and I'm his follower." Haku wondered why he was being so kind to her when they had just met.

"Even if you were, I don't want to fight you. Haku-san, you seem like a nice person that had a horrible past. I can see it in your eyes, they're just like mines once was." The blond explained. Haku stared at him in disbelief. She wondered if she was that transparent or that he had a horrible past as well. His eyes were bright, not clouded in sorrow and regret.

'_If what he says is true, then Zabuza-sama and I no longer have to flee from place to place. I believe I can trust him.'_ Haku thought in optimism. "I'll relay the message to Zabuza-sama, Naruto-san." She replied.

"Call me Naruto; I'm not one for honorifics among friends." He told Haku. The kunoichi laughed that she was already considered a friend by him.

"Hai Naruto and you may call me Haku." She smiled warmly. "By the way I'm a boy, just in case you thought otherwise." Haku said as she watched Naruto's stunned reaction. The blonde was shocked at the sight of such a beautiful boy. Obviously he didn't believe it so he decided to test if Haku really was a 'he'.

"That was a good joke Haku-_chan_. You almost got me there." Naruto said as he emphasized the chan part.

"I'm in fact a boy." Haku denied the claim that she was female. Zabuza taught her that hiding her identity was crucial as females were generally looked down upon.

"Maybe there's a reason you're hiding your gender but I can tell the difference between a guy and girl." He commented, at least he hoped he was able to tell the difference. "Plus I can see your chest bindings." Naruto gestured, making Haku put an arm around her chest. "Gotcha! So you're a girl after all." Naruto laughed happily while Haku was ashamed that she was tricked.

"A-Anyway I better be on my way. I hope the next time we see each other, it won't be as enemies Naruto." Haku said as she turned around. Her face was flushed from embarrassment.

"Bye Haku-chan, I hope that Zabuza accepts our offer." Naruto teased before heading back to Tazuna's house. The kunoichi's face became redder from the affectionate suffix. After her face regained its normal color, she made her way back to the cave. After all, she wouldn't know how to explain to Zabuza why her face was red.

Naruto made his way through the trees and spotted Tazuna's house from the distance. He quietly entered the house so that he wouldn't wake anyone. On the couch waiting to greet him was Kakashi. "I thought I told you to be back before the sun came up. Do you know how worried I was?" The Jonin scolded his student. He was worried that either Zabuza or the apprentice had killed the blond.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei, I was exhausted after training and I fell asleep in the woods. I forgot to come back late night." Naruto apologized for making his sensei worried.

"Naruto it is okay if you do this in Konoha but out in the field, that attitude could get you killed. What if the enemy found you and attacked you when you were sleeping?" Kakashi asked hypothetically.

"Ha-ha." Naruto chuckled nervously. "Actually the enemy did find me and we talked a bit." The blonde informed.

Kakashi was flabbergasted that Naruto was found by the enemy. He was only saying hypothetically, not for it to be true. "Tell me what exactly happened." The Jonin sensei ordered seriously but there was a hint of concern mixed in. Naruto told Kakashi the story on how he met Haku and what they talked about.

"I then offered Zabuza and her sanctuary in Konohagakure if they didn't want to go back to Kirigakure." Naruto finished. Kakashi had to suppress a sign from escaping his mouth.

'_I swear Naruto's too trusting in people. It's like he sees only the good in people like how Kushina-sama…did." _Kakashi thought as a sudden realization struck down on him. He studied Naruto repeatedly and took in the blonde's features. _'That hair! Those eyes! They are the exact replica of Minato-sensei's!" _The Jonin mused. "_…but his child's dead. It was reported that the child died along with Kushina-sama but how is it possible that Naruto look so much like Minato-sensei? I need to ask Hokage-sama as soon as I get back." _Kakashi was unsure what he would do if he found out the truth.

One side of him hoped that Naruto was his sensei's son. After his father died, Minato had taken care of Kakashi and treated him like a son. That would make Naruto as a little brother of sorts. It would give the silver haired Jonin hope that the people he cared about weren't all dead. On the other hand, he also hoped that Naruto just happened to look like Minato. After all, he was never in the boy's life until recently. He had seen the terrible acts of violence that the civilians and ninjas inflicted on Naruto when he was still in ANBU. Kakashi normally sent the members of the mob to T&amp;I for questioning. It was usually Itachi or Yugao who took care of the blond.

"Kakashi-sensei, hey Kakashi-sensei, are you in there?" Naruto asked as he waved a hand in front of the Copy Nin. The Jonin broke away from his thoughts.

"Anyway Naruto, that was too risky since you couldn't have known Haku's intentions. This time nothing bad happened but be more careful next time. There are people out there that'll harm others for no reason." Kakashi told Naruto, rubbing the blonde's hair. _'Even if he isn't sensei's son, he's still my student.' _Kakashi genuinely smiled at his student, though the jinchuriki couldn't see it because of the mask.

***Two days later***

It was the day that Zabuza would be able to move again. Kakashi was gathering his gear and double checking to make sure he had everything. The Konoha Jonin had regained some of his strength from the battle. He had begun helping with Tazuna's guard duty, relieving Shin and Sasuke from their misery. The Uchiha had gotten closer to his teammates as he would initiate conversations with them. He even asked Naruto and Sakura for spars and gave them tips on their training.

Naruto and Sakura had completed most of their training over the past few days. The pinkette had yet to find a Taijutsu style that suited her. The Copy Nin suggested that she seek out her own teacher like Naruto had done with Gai. He recommended Tsunade since Sakura was already studying under the Sannin and Tsunade's Taijutsu required extreme chakra control as well as brute strength.

Naruto was able to learn the elemental bunshins that were his affinities. He was now working the other three elemental bunshins. The other three proved to be quite difficult as it would take several tries to produce a decent copy. The blonde also worked on polishing his Taijutsu and Kenjutsu as he didn't want his skills to diminish.

Shin had successfully gathered enough information on Gato. Gato's headquarters was located to the northwest of Wave, where the bridge would end. The shrewd businessman had hired 200 mercenaries in hopes of getting rid of Zabuza and Tazuna. Team 7 was to strike Gato's headquarters tonight in a two part attack. Team 7 was the decoy and was responsible for taking care of the mercenaries. Meanwhile Shin would kidnap Gato while the enemy was distracted.

Kakashi took the liberty of telling Tazuna and Tsunami the lives of his students. Inari had apologized to the shinobi after he was scolded by Tsunami. After hearing about their lives, Inari regretted his shouting and vowed to be like Kaiza. The one eyed shinobi had finished suiting up for the night assault on Gato's base. He exited the room and headed out of the house to find his team waiting for him. Shin had went on ahead to personally scout the area.

Team 7 had already said their goodbyes to Tazuna and his family. They made their way towards the unfinished bridge. At the end of the bridge, two figures stood in their path. "It's about time you got here Kakashi." Zabuza announced as he and Haku stepped into the moon's light. Both were wearing their shinobi gear. "I was wondering if what that little brat told Haku was true." He asked while pointing to Naruto.

Kakashi eyed the duo cautiously, looking for a sign of an attack. Seeing nothing, the Jonin relaxed his posture. "What Naruto said to your apprentice is true. The civil war in Kirigakure is over with the rebels winning. Konohagakure will also offer you sanctuary if you choose not to return to Kiri." The Konoha-nin explained.

Kakashi didn't exactly hold any power regarding missing-nin hoping to join the village. That power belonged to the Hokage and the council. The most he could do was back the missing-nin's case. As long as Zabuza didn't know that, they would be able to avoid unnecessary fighting. Plus Konohagakure would gladly welcome one of the seven swordsman of the mist and his apprentice.

"Who's the Mizukage?" Zabuza asked as he was still skeptical.

"The current Mizukage goes by the name of Terumi Mei." Kakashi informed. He had learned the information from Shin. Team 7 noticed how Zabuza froze as the name was said. He was muttering things like 'shit she's going to kill me when she finds me', 'why did they make that temperamental bitch Mizukage', and 'I need to run as far away as possible'. Haku was confused by her master's demeanor as he wasn't afraid of anyone.

"A-are you absolutely sure you got that name right?" Zabuza asked, his voice shaking throughout. Kakashi nodded as he was surprised that Zabuza's tough guy act had disappeared. "Well Haku, looks like we're going to Konoha." The swordsman told his disciple. The masked kunoichi was shocked at the turn of events. While she expected Zabuza to end his contract with Gato, she believed that they would be heading back to Kirigakure.

Naruto inwardly cheered that his friend would be coming back to Konohagakure with them. He flashed a smile to Haku to show his happiness. Sasuke and Sakura didn't have much input in the decision. Kakashi was relieved that the mission got easier.

"The only problem we have is my contract with Gato. I'm a man that carries out my duty so I still need to kill the bridge builder." Zabuza commented as he grabbed the handle of Kubikiriboncho.

"What if I told you that Gato has hired 200 mercenaries in hopes of killing you and our client?" Kakashi asked as he threw a piece of paper to Zabuza that Shin had snatched from Gato's files. Zabuza caught it and read the contents. The paper seemed authentic as it had Gato's signature and stamp on it.

"Looks like I have a little man to kill." Zabuza answered, tearing the paper into shreds.

"You won't be able to kill Gato since one of our men is going to kidnap him but you can tag along as we take out his base." Kakashi suggested, giving Zabuza a way to vent his anger.

"Fine but if I see that overgrown rat, I'll be the last thing he sees." Zabuza agreed. The swordsman's words were filled with malice. Team 7 was glad the man was now on their side.

The group of six headed towards their destination. When they arrived Kakashi stopped the group from advancing to plan. They needed to tweak the plan because Zabuza and Haku were here. "Alright we may only be fighting bandits and mercenaries but I want you to be careful. A single mistake could cost your life." Kakashi spoke to his team.

"Don't tell me these brats haven't killed before?" Zabuza scoffed in disbelief. After all, he killed his entire graduation class when he was around their age. Haku experienced her first kill when she killed her father and a mob that was chasing her. He was shocked when Kakashi nodded to his question. "Damn it, I don't want to deal with them freezing up after their first kills." Zabuza complained.

The Genins didn't know how to respond. Although they knew shinobi had to kill, the act of killing was something foreign to them. No amount of training or books could prepare them for taking someone's life. Kakashi noticed how silent his team was.

"As much as I don't want them to experience killing, they would have to one day. I would rather them kill someone with me around than on their own." Kakashi said. His students slowly steeled themselves for what was to come. At Kakashi's signal, everyone leapt towards the camp. There was 4 tents in front the large house were Gato was located. Kakashi and Zabuza quickly took care of the watchmen with a quick slice to the throat. The blood splattered all across the ground, making the grass look crimson.

The Genins looked away from the scene. Haku, Zabuza, and Kakashi began going through hand seals. Haku was the first to finish and she raised her arm to fire her jutsu. "**Hyoton: Kōri no Hashira (Ice Release: Ice Pillars)**." Several ice pillars of varying sizes erupted from the ground, hitting everyone that was in the range of the jutsu. Team 7 was surprised at not only the Kekkei Genkai but also from the use of just one hand to execute the jutsu. People that avoided the pillars escaped out into the open.

Zabuza, not wanting to be upstarted by his disciple, went next. "**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique)**." Huge amounts of water sprang from Zabuza's mouth and formed a giant waterfall. The water drowned several enemies while dragging others away. The enemies were soaked from head to toe.

Kakashi, hoping to capitalize on the water, fired his jutsu. "**Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)**." Kakashi struck the ground and electrified the water. Anyone on the water was shocked by the lightning.

Gato's troops were frozen, soaked, and electrified in the span of a few seconds. Those that were still standing suffered some sort of damage. What originally were two hundred strong, was reduced to a measly seventy-five. To diminish their hopes even further, Shin walked out from the large house with a roped and gagged Gato. The Root ANBU waved and then left the battlefield with Gato in tow. With many of their comrades down and their employer captured, the bandits ran for their lives. Unfortunately not all of them ran as some became enraged and prepared to attack the shinobi.

"Kakashi let the younger ones deal with this lot. They need to know what the real world is like." Zabuza advised. The Jonin wanted to protest so his students wouldn't experience the horrors of killing but he knew Zabuza's logic was correct. "Haku, lower the odds for Kakashi's brats." As soon as Zabuza commanded, senbons penetrated the attacking mercenaries. They collapsed in a heap, paralyzed from the sudden attack. It left only six remaining bandits to be dealt with.

The Genins quickly separated from each other so that they would only had to worry about two opponents. Sasuke was able to hit one of them with a **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**. The mercenary yelled in pain as his arm was seared with flames and he toppled over in pain. The other one tried to take Sasuke by surprise by attacking from behind but was met by a kunai to the jugular. Blood splattered all over Sasuke's face as the man's life drained away. Sasuke slowly wiped the warm blood from his face with his arm warmer. He was able to feel bile rising up but he pushed it back down. The Uchiha boy had experienced something more gut-wrenching before but it didn't make to first kill any easier.

Sakura's opponents fared better than Sasuke's but was still overmatched. A quick **Bunshin no Jutsu** was all that was needed as her opponents became confused on which one to take. By the time they realized the real one wasn't among them, the kunoichi had embedded their chests with kunai. It seems that Sakura had misfired while aiming for their heart, but in reality her desire to not kill changed the direction of the attack. That only made it worse for her two enemies as they were hurting and quickly loosing blood. They stared at her with eyes full of hate as they tried one last ditch effort. Retrieving two more kunais, this time her aim didn't miss. The men fell down to the ground as the sharp metal punctured their hearts. Turning away from the scene, the kunoichi was unable to control her stomach. She vomited her dinner on the red stained grass.

Naruto was up against two men who seemed to rely heavily on their physical strength. They attempted to tackle the smaller Naruto but the blonde simply leapt over them. He hesitated in drawing his sword. That slight hesitation allowed the brutes to recover their balance. This continued until one managed to grab a hold of him. Instinctively he drew his sword and gutted the man that was holding him in the stomach. The man released his hold, clutching his wound in pain. The jinchuriki had no time to process what had happened as the other man swung at him. Dodging the fist, Naruto retaliated by directing his blade towards his opponent's skull. The metal pierced through attacker's head, instantly killing the man. The blonde retracted his blade as blood gushed out the open wound. The body collapsed on the bloody ground with a thud.

Naruto was in a daze, unsure what had happened. The other man with the stomach injury screamed at the death of his comrade. He got on his feet as he stood straight up. "YOU MONSTER!" The man yelled out in rage, charging at the blond. Naruto countered with a swipe to the man's jugular. Blood erupted from the injury, spraying red liquid all over the blonde's attire. Some had managed to land on his hair and face. Naruto didn't register the man collapsing on the ground nor Haku's hand on his shoulder as the adrenaline wore off. The only thing he noticed was that his once white blade had been dyed crimson.

**Reviews:**

**emilbootanimefreak – **I'm actually a fan of Samui as well. So I was glad that Samui was able to sneak in, although it was at the expense of Anko. Shadow clones are always abused by writers so I wanted to do something different.

**APieceOfPie4Everybody011 – **You're welcome. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**Ryuujin96 **– I hope the fights met your expectations. I also realized my mistake in training Sasuke and not Naruto but I think I was able to redeem it. Kakashi will be more involved with Naruto as well as several other people. Again, thanks for the help.

**Please read my stuff – **Thank you for reading!

**skg1991 – **It was my fault that Kakashi forgot about Naruto but I think I redeemed it. Genjutsu training will be coming up soon, I think. I think Sasuke learning several jutsu is a little much but I believe it's possible. Of course compared to Itachi, he isn't as good but who is? Itachi didn't master every jutsu if I recall but he's still a badass.

**gual1 **– Glad that my story flows well. Thanks for answering my question and I agree after reading your explanation.

**NinjaFang1331 **– Haku's coming to Konoha with Naruto. If she didn't, well let's say I would have lots of changing to do.

**.9 – **I've addressed the C-Rank Jutsu problem in the A.N. above. I really wished I let Mikoto alive but her death was necessary for another reason. Shisui did die a couple of days before the massacre but I forgot… Well let's just say I made his death earlier so Danzo could use **Kotoamatsukami**.

**DragonPony022 **– If you have any jutsu suggestions, I'll gladly hear them since it's hard to come up with my own sometimes. Tsunade's coming up in the next chapter and she'll be more involved. Everyone always point out that I forget her. You people love Tsunade.

**Deltablacknaruto – **I believe I answered your questions by PM but oh well. You already knew about my decision to split this story before most. That basically answered your entire review lol. Thanks for the help as well!

**Trace Reading – **I've followed your advice and separated the speeches. I like Naruto in his trademark outfit but the dark colors are like camo for soldiers. ANBU regularly wear dark colors and they rely on stealth even though they aren't a main part of the Naruto Universe. Out on the field, he would be able to blend in with the environment. In towns, he could simply use **Henge** into civilians or wear other clothing.

**chm01 – **I've addressed your question in the A.N.

**Waldo Santiago – **Thanks for reviewing each chapter even though you just needed to review the latest one. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. You people are making me regret even killing Mikoto but her death was necessary. Danzo's easily one of Naruto's top villains since he manipulated so many people. You say my story is beyond crazy but it's simplistic. Isn't that contradicting? Lol oh well. Thank you for pointing out that I write too many summaries, I'm trying to get to canon storyline so I didn't want to stay in the introductory too long.

**loganhunter2 – **Thank you for reviewing each chapter. Basics may not beat S class but a simple kunai can kill any enemy. **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** is used so often that I wanted to try something new. I already explained my reasons for no NaruIno. I addressed the rest of your questions in the A.N. I hope this story gets a 10/10 from you one day.

**Finnish Paragade – **I'm sorry but I don't quite understand your review. What unbreakable rules am I breaking and why is it disappointing?

**kingdom219 – **Thanks for the support and I hope to progress them even further.

**narumulti – **Thanks for the support and I'll try to update as fast as possible.

**bandgsecurityaw – **Thank you for reading this work!

**imgonnadie – **Thank you and hope you liked this chapter as well.

**125b –** Thanks, I hope it continues to meet your expectations.


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 11/15/16. Added more details to the story.

**A.N.**

Hello everyone! I'm finally on spring break, which is why it took so long for me to post this chapter. I believe this is the best chapter I have written yet so I hope you guys enjoy it. In other news, I think I received my first flame. I must say that I didn't necessarily enjoy it but I know it comes with writing. I don't have much to say… so on with the show.

**Chapter 8: Prelude to the Exams**

The group silently leapt from branch to branch as they made their way back to Tazuna's home. Kakashi was worried about his students' well-being as he led the way. Sasuke seemed like his usually quiet self but Kakashi could see the turmoil in his eyes. Naruto and Sakura were worse off as they both were pale faced and seemed to lag behind. Zabuza was indifferent to the entire situation while Haku was worried about the blonde. After several minutes of traveling, they landed near the house.

"I want you three to go wash up and then we'll talk about what happened." Kakashi ordered his team. The Copy Nin understood their agony as he also took a life at a young age. He only hoped that he could find the right words to consul them. Sakura went inside to shower while Naruto and Sasuke made their way towards the sea. All three wanted to get rid of their bloodied clothes as soon as possible. Zabuza and Haku followed Kakashi inside to see Shin and a chained up Gato.

Zabuza grabbed the hilt of Kubikiriboncho but he was stopped from pulling it out mid motion by the silver haired male. "Let me go Kakashi, I need to kill this little rat for trying to betray me." Zabuza spat out. Shin took a protective stance in front of Gato just in case. Kakashi could only sigh as he hoped that the family upstairs wouldn't wake up.

"Zabuza I understand your anger but you should let the townspeople deal with this. They've suffered much from Gato and I believe they deserve some retribution." Kakashi tried to persuade his new ally as he released his hold. They were originally planning to imprison Gato in Konohagakure but who knows what tactics he would use to escape once he got there.

"Kakashi you might as well let me kill him. If these townspeople suffered as much as you said, then they'll tear Gato to shreds. I don't think you want innocent people to have blood on their hands." Zabuza reasoned to the Jonin. Kakashi couldn't fault the reasoning and wondered what to do. Luckily a washed Sasuke and Naruto entered the house. Sakura came downstairs a few seconds later after the duo. Kakashi motioned for them to sit on the couch so they could talk. Shin glanced at his little brother before dragging Gato outside.

Kakashi looked at his students, hoping that one of them would ask him a question. He didn't have to wait long as Naruto began speaking. "Kakashi-sensei why did you want us to kill those bandits?" Naruto asked before clarifying. "I understand that as shinobi we're supposed to kill but those bandits didn't pose a threat to us." Kakashi was able to see that Naruto wanted to find a reason to justify the killing. The Jonin took a small breath before speaking.

"You're correct that shinobi are supposed to kill on their missions. The reason I wanted you three to experience your first kill earlier is because I didn't want the trauma of the kill to affect your future missions. In one way or another, all of you froze when you took a person's life. If that were to happen on a mission, you could endanger yourself and your team. I also made you take on the bandits because I would be able to help you if something drastic was to occur." The Copy Nin explained to his students.

"How do you deal with this Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked quietly. "I mean how do you deal with the blood and responsibility of taking someone's life?" Sakura clarified as her body shuddered from remembering the sound of her kunai driving into flesh. She felt vomit coming up again but she suppressed the urge to gag.

"I usually wash away the blood like you three did. The only way I can deal with taking another's life is because of one fact. If I don't kill the enemy, they'll harm someone else. As Konoha Nin, you're taught the Will of Fire. It's ultimately up to you to decide if you should kill or not." The Jonin advised. He was able to see that his words had some sort of an effect on the three.

Sasuke who didn't speak the entire time, got up and went upstairs to sleep. Sakura, although still shaken up, followed shortly after. Both were hoping that sleep would cure them of their ailments. Naruto sat there silently before getting up and exiting the house. Haku followed after the boy, leaving Kakashi alone with Zabuza. "Kakashi, what do you want to do about Gato?" The mist swordsman asked, breaking the silence.

"Zabuza, I want to keep him alive a little longer so we can gather all of his money that he stole from the people of Wave." Kakashi answered, hoping that it would be enough to avoid any more bloodshed for now. Zabuza eyed the Konoha Jonin before nodding and headed outside as well. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the swordsman leave. In the bandaged man's place, Shin reentered the home.

"Kakashi-san what should I do with Gato?" The blue haired boy asked. Kakashi waved off the Root ANBU, deciding to think about it tomorrow. Accepting the decision, Shin left the house and went into the woods were he left Gato.

Naruto watched his older brother leave from above. The blonde was sitting on the roof and was in the process of cleaning his wakizashi of the bandits' blood. Haku was nearby but chose not to interfere with his cleaning. However, Zabuza had other ideas. "That's a beautiful blade there brat. I hope you know how to use it. Otherwise you'll be wasting its potential." Zabuza commented.

Naruto didn't reply as he continued to wipe his blade until the blade glistened in the moon's light. The jinchuriki sheathed his blade and sealed it within a scroll. "Zabuza-san why did you kill your entire graduation class?" He inquired. Naruto's voice was soft but Zabuza was able to pick it up.

"Kirigakure had a tradition that pitted graduation classes against one another. It was said that those who performed exceptionally well were recruited to be a part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. I actually didn't kill my graduation class so the information in the bingo book is wrong. I killed an entire graduation class when I wasn't even a student yet." Zabuza revealed, much to Naruto's shock.

"I can't understand that tradition because what would possess people to kill each other?" Naruto commented. He couldn't fathom facing another class like Neji's and be forced to kill each other. Zabuza scoffed at the blonde's questions.

"That tradition was established by our now decreased Yondaime. Yagura was originally a pleasant person but once he became Mizukage, he became brutal and blood thirsty. Everyone was forced to follow his iron rule. I guess that what happens when a Biju takes over its host, at least that's what the populace said. Still, I wished I was the one to chop off that bastard's head." The swordsman spat out. Naruto's body tensed at the words Biju but he quickly shook it off.

The trees shuffled in the wind as the two shinobi's conversations ended. Stars were twinkling in the night sky and only the sound of waves could be heard. The night was peaceful, quite contrasted to the battle that occurred only a few hours earlier. Zabuza took his leave as he figured Naruto didn't want to talk anymore. He gave some parting words before he left.

"I was always physically gifted even compared to kids older than me. The older kids felt threatened so they tried to kill me on a night similar to tonight. Luckily I wasn't home at the time but my parents weren't so lucky. I arrived home to see my parents' throats slit and left there to rot. I was stricken with grief until I noticed a blade near their bodies. On the hilt was the name of one of the older kids that always tried to harass me. In a fit of rage, the next morning I arrived at the school with the same blade and I slaughtered them all." The mist swordsman said, leaving before Naruto could comment.

The blonde boy was stunned that something like that had happened to Zabuza. He didn't even noticed that someone sat down beside him. It was only when Haku's hand touched his shoulder that he regained his senses. "How are you Naruto-san?" Haku wondered about the blonde's state of mind as she took off her porcelain mask. Naruto turned to face his friend with a melancholy smile.

"Haku what did I tell you about calling me san? I don't like honorifics among friends." Naruto said as he chuckled lightly. Haku was glad that her first friend was laughing as it meant that he was getting better.

"Hai I'm sorry Naruto. But you never answered my question?" The kunoichi replied as she still doubted that Naruto was truly fine. The jinchuriki avoided eye contact as he glanced up to observe the moon. Haku followed his gaze and silently watched the night sky.

"Haku I'm unsure how to feel. I understand everything Kakashi-sensei said and it makes perfect sense. I would do whatever it took to protect the people precious to me but I can't shake the dread that comes with killing. Sure I've protect people from the bandits but what if the bandits I killed also had people that they held precious? When I think like that, I can't help but feel like the monster that my village makes me out to be." The boy remarked. Naruto's voice was solemn, lacking his usual brightness.

"Naruto let me tell you about my past." Haku began, surprising him with her forwardness. "In Kirigakure, there was a thing called the bloodline purges when the Yondaime was alive. The Yondaime decreed that people who possessed Kekkei Genkai were evil and began killing anyone who possessed them. My mother was able to escape and became the sole survivor of the Yuki Clan. She eventually fell in love with my father and became pregnant with me. When I was four years old, I discovered that I possessed the Kekkei Genkai as well. At the time I didn't know what it was so I showed my mother, hoping she would praise me. Instead she slapped me and told me to never show it again." Haku's eyes began tearing up but she wiped them away. The kunoichi steadied her breath so she could finish the rest of the tale.

"It was too late as my father had saw what had occurred. He gathered a mob and in the dead of night, tried to kill my mother and me. My mother was attacked first and was unable to retaliate. I awoke when I heard the sound of her screaming my name. To protect myself, I used my abilities to create giant ice spikes and decimated our home. Everyone in the house was pierced by the spikes as I huddled in a corner. Not knowing what to do, I fled the scene just in case other people came to attack me. I was found a couple hours later by Zabuza-sama, who saw the scene." Haku reminisced her past as she remember the rainy day when her savior found her.

Naruto struggled to find words to say. He was unsure how to comfort her since he had never comforted someone before. The boy slowly wrapped his arms around Haku's frame and pulled her towards him. As he hugged her, the blonde began stroking her black hair in an attempt to provide some comfort. Naruto had seen several mothers do this to their children when they were hurt. Haku was paralyzed by the bold actions and was confused about the situation. Confusion turn to remembrance as she remembered her mother doing the exact same thing for her.

Small droplets slowly escaped the corner of her eyes and made its way down her chin. The tears increased in frequency as Haku's flood gates were opened. The kunoichi cried in sadness for the death of her mother. She cried out in frustration as she was forced to live on the run for so many years. She wasn't allowed to cry since Zabuza instructed her that shinobi don't cry. All the pent up feelings that accumulated over the course of several years were dripping onto Naruto's shirt.

Seeing Haku cry, Naruto was on the verge of breaking himself. He needed to be strong in this situation but Haku's weeping was too much to handle. The blonde unsuccessfully tried to stifle his tears by looking upwards. His tears began falling on Haku but she was too preoccupied to notice. The two cried their fill and eventually the tears stopped. The duo remained in place with Haku huddled in Naruto's arms. Both were too tired to be embarrassed about their position so they just enjoyed each other's warm embrace.

After what felt like hours, which was only minutes in reality, Haku's curiosity got a hold of her. "Naruto can you tell me about your past?" She asked, not bothering to lift her head from Naruto's damp shirt. The black haired maiden was unable to see Naruto's sad expression when she asked. He never talked about his past but he felt compelled to after Haku had shared hers.

"Ever since I was small, I was hated by the village with a few exceptions. The villagers would never physically hurt me except on a certain day. They tended to ignore me and refuse to sell me goods. When I was allowed to buy things at their stores, it was overpriced or spoiled. They even told their children to stay away from me since I was a monster or a demon. To garner their attention, I would constantly prank the village. It was the only thing I was able to do and the chase was pretty fun. My life changed for the better when I had pranked my teammate's, Sasuke, clan." Naruto said in fondness as Haku's mind remembered the other boy on Naruto's team.

"That day was the day I met my mother figure, Mikoto-san who also happened to be Sasuke's mother. She was so nice to me that I couldn't believe such a nice lady was Sasuke's mother. At one point, I believed she was an angel that was sent down to rescue me from my misery." Naruto chuckled at his younger self. "For several months Mikoto-san, along with her oldest son Itachi, taught be how to be a shinobi. Itachi was also kind to me and even treated me like a little brother. To me, those days were the best days of my life." Haku noticed the use of the past tense as Naruto continued.

"One day I found out that Itachi had killed the entire Uchiha Clan sans Sasuke. They said Itachi killed them because he was testing himself but I don't believe that." Naruto said with conviction. "Although I don't know the exact reason Itachi did it, I won't believe anything until I hear it come from his mouth. Shortly after the incident, my 9th birthday arrived. I was obviously not in the mood to celebrate but my friends managed to pull me out of my depression." Naruto smiled as he remembered his birthday party.

"That was the day I found out the reason I was hated. The Sandaime Hokage decided that he wanted me to know the secret he had kept from me since I was born. On the day I was born, the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked Konohagakure. The Yondaime was forced to sacrifice his life to prevent the Kyuubi from attacking the village. You see, there isn't a way to defeat a Biju so the Yondaime Hokage was forced to seal the beast within a new born baby. The price for performing the seal was the life of the caster and I was the baby that has the Biju sealed within me." Naruto finished.

The shock was present on Haku's face as she couldn't believe what she had just heard. Naruto could feel her body tremble and he frowned at the action. "I understand if you hate me now since I'm similar to the person that initiated the bloodline purges." Naruto remarked as he slowly released his hold of Haku. He didn't get very far as Haku grabbed his shirt to prevent him from leaving. Naruto looked down to see her dark brown eyes staring back at him.

"I don't hate you Naruto, you're your own person. I can see that you dealt with the same discrimination that I dealt with. You aren't the monster people fear you are. You're Uzumaki Naruto, a kind person and my friend." Haku assured. A small smile graced her face as she could see Naruto's cerulean eyes regain its glow. The duo smiled fondly at each other before they were interrupted by a cough. They turned to see Zabuza standing there. They quickly separated at each other as Zabuza made his way up.

The man told Haku to go back inside. She did as told but not before glancing back at Naruto and her master. Zabuza examined the blond like a lion observing his prey. The tension in the air took away the blonde's breath. "I'm watching you." Zabuza said with a glare before he retreated back into the house. Naruto could only sigh in relief as the tension dispersed. He followed after Zabuza to catch some much needed sleep.

The following morning, Gato was killed by Zabuza after Kakashi had time to dwell on the decision. The Copy Nin didn't want the people of Wave to have their hands bloodied so he accepted Zabuza's proposal. Gato met a swift end as Zabuza lopped off his head with a single swipe of Kubikiriboncho. Kakashi had informed Wave that Gato's tyranny had ended and he returned the stolen money back to their rightful owners. The leftover money was split between Zabuza for his services and to Tazuna's family.

Team 7 had decided to stay until the bridge was complete since that was the original assignment. Tazuna had graciously paid for an S-Class mission although the mission would officially go down as an A-Class mission. Kakashi asked Zabuza if he minded teaching the Genins while the Konoha Jonin protected Tazuna. The swordsman obliged as he didn't had anything else to do and would rather not be stuck on guard duty while Haku was with Naruto. The Copy Nin was confused by Zabuza's words but he decided to shrug it off.

Zabuza, Haku, and the rest of Team 7 were currently in the woods. "Alright brats, do any of you have a water affinity?" Zabuza asked since he intended to train them in his strength. Naruto was the only one who raised his hand at the question. "I knew you had a blade but the fact that you have a water affinity makes it even better. Not to mention your stealth's excellent, which makes you perfect for this jutsu." Zabuza smirked menacingly. He was going to put the boy through the wringer.

Zabuza slowly showed Naruto the hand seals for the jutsu. "**Ninpon: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden in the Mist Technique)**." Zabuza announced his technique and soon a mist shrouded the area. "This technique would complement blondie nicely as you can use the mist as a diversion. Now for training, I'll help the blondie use the technique while the other two will go with Haku." Sakura and Sasuke was confused about this and was about to voice their objections.

"Before you say anything, let me finish talking. Haku will use the same technique on you. Your training is to learn how to use all of your senses to detect your enemy. We, as shinobi, often rely too heavily on our sight. This training will help you enhance your other senses to be able to pinpoint enemy ninja. It'll also help improve your instincts as well since Haku will shower you with senbons. If you're lucky, you might be able to develop chakra sensing." Zabuza smirked, which would had scared Sakura if she could see through the bandages.

"Excuse me Zabuza-san, what's chakra sensing?" Sakura asked shyly as she was still scared of the swordsman. Naruto and Sasuke also nodded since they had never heard of it either.

"Chakra sensing is an ability that allows a shinobi to detect the presence of others by their chakra. There are several Kekkei Genkai, such as Konoha's Byakugan, that allows the user the ability to see chakra. Chakra sensors are invaluable as they're able to detect enemies and other sensors. Chakra sensing can be learned but it can only be learned by a select few. Only those who are born sensitive to chakra are able to master this skill." Zabuza explained.

Now that the swordsman was finished with his explanation, the group split in two with Haku's group leaving to another area. "Alright kid, go ahead and try the technique." Zabuza ordered Naruto. Naruto did as told and performed the jutsu. Just like Zabuza, a mist blanketed the area but it was considerably thicker. "Kid, you should lessen your chakra input. It's good that no one can see through this mist but you're wasting chakra." The older man addressed as he couldn't see the blonde even though Naruto was in front of him.

Naruto did as told and the mist lighten slightly. They continued practicing the technique with Zabuza instructing Naruto to change how much chakra to put in the mist. Eventually Naruto was able to control the mist even as he moved around. He was now doing the same training as his teammates, except only he made the mist while trying to fend off Zabuza's attacks. This training continued until a week passed.

During that span, Naruto was able to successfully spar with Zabuza in Kenjutsu while in the mist. He lost the entire time but no one was keeping count. He could had sworn Zabuza was hurting him on purpose but the older swordsman insisted that he was giving Naruto battle experience. Sasuke was able to unlock his Sharingan after he was skewered by several senbons when trying to dodge them. The Uchiha was proud that he unlocked his Kekkei Genkai and asked Kakashi for advice. Sakura's improvement was the most surprising as they found out she was a chakra sensor. She wasn't able to sense very far and was still having trouble sensing presences. Kakashi recommended that she wait to find a fellow sensor like Inoichi to train under since he and Zabuza weren't sensors.

Kakashi didn't slack off their training either when Zabuza and Haku relieved him of guard duty. Kakashi focused on their Taijutsu and taught them **Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)**. They also worked on **Kai (Release) **in case they ever faced a Genjutsu. Both were essential to every shinobi so he made it a point for them to learn it. All three threw up their lunches on their first attempt of the **Shunshin no Jutsu**. Naruto seemed to be the most natural at the technique as he was able to travel the farthest. All three were able to dispel **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)** rather quickly after experiencing it several times.

The group was now standing outside Tazuna's house as the people of Wave came to see their heroes off. "I thank you again for getting rid of Gato and protecting my life." Tazuna once again thanked his saviors. The townspeople cheered loudly and gave their thanks as well. The Konoha group said their goodbyes as they began their journey back home. Tsunami turned to her father.

"What should we call the bridge now that it's finished?" She asked as she looked at the bridge that connected Wave to Fire Country. Tazuna pondered as he observed the bridge he made with his own hands. Suddenly a name came to him.

"The name of this bridge is The Bridge of Hope, to signify the hope that Konohagakure and Team 7 brought to us." The bridge builder announced. The populace cheered once more as they celebrated a new era in Wave.

***In Takigakure***

[1] Hayase, the leader of Takigakure, stared at the parchment that he received from Konohagakure. It stated that all five Great Shinobi Nations were participating in the Chunin Exams. He crumpled up the paper as he began thinking. A grin appeared on his face as he summoned his son. It was time for Takigakure to upsurge one of the Great Nations and make Takigakure a force to be reckon with. To accomplish that, he would need to use something he hated. He would need to send the wretched girl as a participant so glory and riches can come to his village.

***At the gates of Konohagakure***

The group of five had finally arrived at the gates after a day of traveling. Shin had went back earlier since the mission no longer required back up. The journey back was faster since they weren't traveling with a civilian. It also gave the Genins ample time to practice their **Shunshin**. Kotetsu lazily allowed the group to pass through after he saw that Kakashi was among them. He didn't even notice the presence of Haku and Zabuza. Fortunately, Izumo took his duty seriously and stopped the group. "Hold up, may I ask why two non-Konoha Nin are entering Kakashi?" Izumo inquired.

Kotetsu instantly tensed up and grabbed a kunai in case a battle was to occur. Kakashi decided to ease the tension. "These two helped us on our mission and are now requesting admission to become Konoha shinobi." The Jonin explained. Izumo, understanding the situation, allowed the group to advance.

"Dude that was scary. That was freaking Momochi Zabuza, **Kirigakure no Kijin**. I swear his blood must be made of ice. That girl was cute though." Kotetsu commented as he put his kunai away.

Izumo could only shake his head at his friend. "I wouldn't mess with that girl if I were you. She's probably related to Zabuza in some sort of manner." Izumo warned, which made Kotetsu paled.

The group leapt across the roofs to deliver their report to the Hokage. They were granted entry by the secretary and Kakashi knocked on the door. A voice from behind the door allowed entry and everyone filed inside. "Team 7 reporting back from duty, Hokage-sama." Kakashi announced.

"I take it that your mission was a success, but what's a Kiri missing-nin is doing here?" Hiruzen said as he narrowed his eyes at the two missing-nin. Kakashi gave his mission report. The Jonin then stated that Zabuza and Haku wished to gain entry as a shinobi of Konohagakure. Shin had gave his own report so Hiruzen knew the gist of it. The Hokage didn't need to ponder on the decision as he already knew his answer. "Haku would be admitted as a Konoha kunoichi as long as everything checks out at T&amp;I. She'll be on a month probation to allow her time to get settled in her new environment. Zabuza, on the other hand, is a different story." The Sandaime declared.

"Hey old man, is there a problem with me wanting to be a Leaf Nin?" Zabuza asked as he released a small killing intent. Sarutobi wasn't fazed as he smoked his pipe.

"There is a problem with you joining Momochi-san. The reason is that you're one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. I don't know how the new Mizukage will react when she hears the news that you joined my village. I'll prefer not to get on her bad side when our villages are neutral. Hopefully we'll be able to have a peace treaty but that'll remain to be seen. If the Mizukage allows it, I would glad accept you." Hiruzen explained.

Zabuza's face paled as he knew Mei wouldn't allow him to be a Leaf Nin. _'That sadistic woman would never allow me to be here since I'm one of the Seven Swordsman. I need to leave now before she catches wind of my whereabouts.' _Zabuza turned to Haku and was about to speak. He stopped as he realized he would be forcing her back to a life on the run. He couldn't possibly force that on her now that she made a friend, even if it was a boy. He steeled himself to say his next words. "Fine we'll wait for the Mizukage's decision." Zabuza said bitterly.

The Sandaime smiled as he would be adding a member of the Yuki Clan into his ranks and potentially one of the seven swordsman. "Naruto can you escort Haku and Zabuza to T&amp;I and make sure Anko understands they aren't prisoners? I'll have an escort take them to their temporary living quarter afterwards. The rest of you besides Kakashi is dismissed." Hiruzen ordered. Naruto shuddered as he remembered Anko's last victims. The group of four sans Kakashi left the room. "We're having a meeting soon involving all the Jonin senseis. I figured you might as well wait." Hiruzen answered the Jonin's unspoken question.

Right on cue, every Jonin reported in. They were startled that Kakashi was there before them, still unused to the fact that the silver haired man was on time. "I've gathered you here today because the Chunin Exams will be here in two weeks. I've purposely moved up the exams to compensate for some other things. I wanted to know what teams are entering the exams. Before you answer, I would like to warn you that this could possibly be the biggest exams ever. All five Great Shinobi Nations along with a few minor nations will have participants in the Exams. I want as much of our Genins to participate but I would only allow it if the sensei believe they're ready." The Hokage informed.

The news shocked the Jonins as the upcoming exams would be monumental. Many wondered if their team was indeed ready to participate in something like this. Asuma raised his hand and was acknowledged by his father. "Hokage-sama, do we have a number on how many participants will be entering the exams?" The chain smoker asked.

"42 from Iwagakure, 33 from Kumogakure, 30 from Sunagakure, 15 from Kirigakure, 21 from Amegakure, 9 from Takigakure, 6 from Kusagakure, and 6 from Otogakure. That brings the total to 162 participants, or 54 teams, and that doesn't include the Genin that we'll send. Now that you've heard the numbers, those that don't want their team to participate can leave." Hiruzen said.

No one initially moved but slowly several Jonins left, leaving only 22 Jonins in the room. Of the ones remaining, the rookie senseis were still in the room. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at this but decided to trust in the Jonins' judgment. "You have two weeks to prepare your teams for the event and make sure they sign the forms before anything else. Dismissed." Hiruzen gave the senseis the forms before dismissing them.

"Asuma and Kurenai, can I talk to you two later?" Kakashi asked his fellow shinobi. "It's about the Chunin Exams." He added. They agreed to meet up at Dangoya for dinner. Asuma and Kurenai left, leaving Kakashi alone with Hiruzen.

"Hokage-sama I wish to talk about Naruto in private." Kakashi voiced his reason for remaining behind. The Sandaime wondered what was so important to make the usually lazy ninja stay behind. He dismissed the guards and activated his secrecy seals. "Hokage-sama, is Naruto related to sensei in some way?" Kakashi asked.

Hiruzen was caught off guard by the sudden question. He always thought Kakashi would never find out until it was revealed when Naruto was a Chunin. "Of course Naruto-kun is related to Minato." Hiruzen said simply as Kakashi was shocked. "After all, Minato sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto-kun's body." Hiruzen replied. The Copy Nin could only deadpan at his Hokage's attempt at humor. Hiruzen decided that the time for jokes were over. "Naruto's the son of Minato and Kushina. I hid his identity because of his parents' enemies." The Hokage spoke truthfully this time.

The silver haired Jonin shattered at the revelation. He slowly began berating himself for all the times he could had been there for Naruto. His depression quickly turned to anger, which he directed to Hiruzen. "Why didn't you tell me sensei's child was alive?" He yelled. "It's your fault that Naruto lived such a horrible life until now." Kakashi shouted as he directed his mistakes onto another person. The last sentence deeply hurt the Hokage, even though he knew Kakashi's state of mind wasn't sound.

"Jonin Hatake Kakashi, I'm the Hokage and I demand that you treat me with the respect I deserve. If anyone looked closely, they could see Naruto's resemblance to Minato. Do not place your blame on me when you've been watching Naruto from your ANBU days until now. How is it my fault that it took you so long to realize the truth?" Hiruzen lectured his underling.

Kakashi held his tongue to avoid saying anything else that he would regret. The Copy Nin didn't want to accept the truth but it was time to face reality. "I apologize for my behavior Hokage-sama. The revelation caused my feelings to overrule my reason." Kakashi bowed to the Sandaime. Hiruzen accepted the apology. The Hokage dismissed the Jonin but not before telling him that Naruto's heritage was an S-Class secret. Kakashi didn't leave via **Shunshin** like usual and instead walked out via the door. Hiruzen pitied the silver haired adult as he watched Kakashi listlessly walk through the streets.

Kakashi was walking through town but his mind was elsewhere. The day seemed dull now compared to when Team 7 returned from their mission. To Kakashi, the world was losing its color. Everywhere he looked, he could see someone that had harmed Naruto in some sort of way over the years. Their happy expressions only seemed to fuel his anger as he remembered how Naruto was neglected. They waved at him with smiles on their faces but he could only see sadistic grins with fists at the ready to punish Naruto. He was broke from his musing by a loud youthful cry.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival, what are you doing here?" The spandex giant asked. "Are you not supposed to be meeting up with Asuma and Kurenai?" Gai questioned as he heard about the meeting from Asuma. Kakashi stared at the ground as he remembered that he had proposed to meet up with the other rookie senseis. The Copy Nin wasn't in the best of moods so he'll need to reschedule the meeting. The only problem was that Gai had dragged him to Dangoya while he was thinking. "Here we are my youthful friend, let us go inside." Gai ushered his rival inside the building.

The duo made their way to a large group that consisted of Kurenai, Asuma, Yugao, Hayate, Anko, Genma, and Shizune. Shizune had become close to the group since her return to Konoha. "About time you got here Kakashi, what took you so long?" Asuma asked and expected a lame excuse from the Copy Nin. The only thing he received was silence as Kakashi quietly took a seat. Gai took a seat at the table as well.

"Yo Gai, what's up with one eye wonder?" Anko asked the person who picked up the so called one eye wonder. Gai shrugged his shoulders and replied that he found Kakashi in this state. Shizune did a quick scan for any illnesses but found nothing. Yugao began worrying as she had never seen her sempai like this before. Genma decided enough was enough so he began to probe for answers.

"Is it a woman Kakashi?" Genma guessed. "Don't worry about it. Another one will come along." The bandana wearing Jonin consoled but Kakashi didn't react. "I got it! It must have to do with one of your students." Genma proclaimed as he guessed correctly. Kakashi's body visibly twitched at the mention of students. Everyone at the table saw the sudden movement.

"Man that gaki must have really riled you up to leave you in such as state." Anko laughed as she wondered what prank Naruto had pulled.

"Naruto's a responsible young man and would never to anything harmful on a mission." Shizune stated as she came to his defense. Yugao agreed whole heartily with the medic. This garnered Kakashi's attention and he turned to face the group.

"Do you guys know Naruto?" Kakashi asked since he never bothered with his student's personal life. Everyone except Asuma and Genma nodded at the question.

"I'm Naruto's Kenjutsu instructor with Yugao coming by every so often to help train him. Gai is his Taijutsu instructor and we would often converse about Naruto's progress in his skills. I don't know how the ladies besides Yugao know Naruto though." Hayate answered while Gai smiled, which showed his bright white teeth.

"I know Naruto from stories that Yugao and my team told me. I've met him once or twice when I served as Hinata's escort. Anko has known him since he pranked the T&amp;I department that one time. Shizune knows Naruto since Tsunade-sama is his godmother." Kurenai replied casually. Everyone besides Kurenai and Shizune gasped in shock over the fact that one of the Sannin was the godmother of the village pariah. For Kakashi, this only helped further validate the truth of Naruto's heritage. Kakashi decided to change the topic, in hopes of concealing Naruto's identity.

"Anyway the reason why I called Asuma and Kurenai here was because I want our teams to train with each other. Gai could get on this as well since our goal is to make our teams pass the Chunin Exams. I can help with Ninjutsu, Kurenai with Genjutsu, Asuma with Bukijutsu, and Gai with Taijutsu. I would appreciate if the rest of you can help out as well." Kakashi said to change the topic as everyone wondered what snapped him out from his stupor.

Shizune offered her and Tsunade's help, even though the Sannin never agreed to such a thing. She could help them with poisons while Tsunade could help with chakra control and medical techniques. Yugao, Hayate and Genma were busy with missions so they declined. Anko regretfully declined torturing the Genins due to the fact that she was busy preparing for the exams.

They all agreed to meet up at Training Ground 30 tomorrow morning but in the meantime, they conversed and drank alcohol into the night.

***Next Morning***

The Jonins were escorted their Genins towards Training Ground 30. This particular training ground was a large open area, usually reserved for mission simulations. Today and the rest of the two weeks, it'll be used as a field of training for the aspiring Chunins. The Konoha 12 along with Haku and Zabuza, who decided to tag along after they had spotted Kakashi when they were exploring the town, arrived at the grounds for reasons unknown to them. The Genins other than Team 7 were surprised or scared to see the Demon of the Mist. They all sat on the grass while Zabuza and Haku decided to sit on a bench next to Shizune and Tsunade. Kurenai decided to clarify why they were here.

"All right Genins, I know you're wondering why you're here today. The reason is because the Chunin Exams are coming up in two weeks. Your senseis and I decided to help train you to prepare for them. I'll let the other senseis introduce themselves to you." Kurenai explained. The Konoha 12 sat still as they tried to process the information as quickly as possible.

"S-Sensei does that mean all of us are participating in the Chunin Exams?" Hinata asked meekly. She didn't believe that she was quite ready to participate in the event. Asuma decided to answer the shy girl's question.

"We've nominated you guys for the Chunin Exams because we believe you have the skills to do what it takes to become Chunin. Although we want to make sure you guys are prepared for the danger since this exam could be the hardest one yet." Asuma responded but that only made those that were insecure about their abilities more anxious.

"Why will this exam be any harder than the ones of the past?" Naruto asked since he thought the exams were supposed to be fair.

"In this exam, we're going to have all Five Great Shinobi Villages along with several minor villages participating." Gai replied youthful. This was huge news to the prospective Chunins as that kind of thing had never happen before. Shikamaru and Shino were worried about their friend, who frowned at the news. This didn't escape the watchful eye of Kakashi.

"Alright how about I introduce myself first?" Kakashi grabbed their attention as he kept an eye on his sensei's son. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, Jonin-sensei of Team 7, and I'll be training you in Ninjutsu. I have a wide range of Ninjutsu that spans all elements and ranks." Kakashi introduced himself despite never taking his face out of his orange book. Asuma went after him.

"The name is Sarutobi Asuma, Jonin-sensei of Team 10, and I'll be training you in Bukijutsu. For those of you who don't know what Bukijutsu is; it's techniques that involves a weapon or weapons. My primary weapon of choice is trench knives. I have experience with all sorts of weapons, thanks to my days as one of the twelve Guardian Shinobi." Asuma concluded as he blew out smoke. The smoke was accidently blown at Kurenai, who punched Asuma several times. The chain smoker winced in pain on the grass.

"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai, Jonin-sensei of Team 8, and I'll be training you in Genjutsu. The training will involve detecting, spotting, and casting Genjutsu. For those of you who think Genjutsu is a waste of time, you will think otherwise after I finish training with you." Kurenai said coldly. Everyone felt chills when Kurenai made the last comment. Everybody made a mental note to never piss off the Genjutsu Mistress.

"Hello youthful students! I'm the mighty Maito Guy, Jonin-sensei of Team 9, and I'll teach you in the youthful arts of Taijutsu." Gai gave his nice guy pose which blinded nearly everyone. Lee was the only one who seemed unaffected. "Do not fear as I'm known as the Taijutsu specialist of Konoha, your skills will raise along with your youthful passion. If you work hard, I shall reward you with a pair of this wonderful green spandex suit." Gai shouted as he raised the spandex suit in the air.

Agony and disgust were heard as people tried to tear the image of wearing the green spandex out of their heads. Haku turned pale as she imaged herself wearing the suit and shouting things like youth. Zabuza wondered if this was why Konohagakure remained the strongest among the five. With Jonins like these, no one in their right mind would want to face them.

"Senju Tsunade." Tsunade told everyone her name. They waited for her to continue but she only whined to Shizune about how hangovers and mornings didn't mix. Everyone who didn't know the Sannin deadpanned as their impression of a Sannin went down the drain. Naruto face palmed at how his godmother was acting. Shizune could be heard yelling at her mentor for the half assed introduction. The black haired medic composed herself when she noticed people staring at her.

"My name is Shizune and I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice. I'll be teaching you poisons and remedies while Tsunade-sama will be teaching chakra control and medical Ninjutsu. I hope we can get along." Shizune gave her a sisterly aura, which seemed to calm the Genins. The Konoha 12 was glad that someone was normal among the instructors.

Kakashi coughed to gather everyone's attention. Noticing that he got just that, he began explaining. "We'll be at this training grounds every morning for the two weeks leading up to the exams. After the morning training, you can spend the rest of the day doing whatever you wish. You can come to any of the instructors for training but please mention it to that person beforehand since we also have lives." Kakashi subtlety suggested that the Genins should train in the afternoons as well.

"Kakashi-sensei what do you suggest we work on individually?" Naruto asked as he pointing to himself and his teammates before continuing. "I personally don't know what areas I should focus on." He explained. Kakashi pondered the thought for a second as he mentally evaluated his students.

"Naruto your greatest strength is your creativity, stealth, and wide range of abilities. On the other hand, your greatest weakness is most likely opponents who are faster or stronger than you and straightforward battles. I don't know enough about your Kenjutsu and Taijutsu abilities to properly critique them. I think you should train with me so I can teach you some useful and strong Ninjutsu." Kakashi answered. _'Although I also want to train to make up for my mistakes.' _The Yondaime's student thought in regret. Naruto thanked his sensei for his assessment before he mulled on what he should do.

"Sasuke's greatest strength and weakness is the Sharingan." The Copy Nin said much to the surprise of the Uchiha. "Don't get me wrong here. The Sharingan is a wonderful asset out in the field due to its abilities. However, those abilities make the user over reliant on the Doujutsu. The Sharingan allows the user to see attacks coming as well as copy jutsus among other things. That doesn't mean the user can dodge those attacks they see coming or use the jutsus they copied to its full potential. Sasuke, I recommend you work with me and Gai for Sharingan and Taijutsu training." Kakashi told his pupil. Sasuke frowned but he agreed with Kakashi as he remembered his cousins were often overconfident in their skills after they unlocked the Sharingan.

"Sakura your greatest strength is your physical strength, excellent chakra control, and intellect. You have great potential to be a strong kunoichi but you have confidence issues and you lack an area of expertise. I actually recommend you to train with all the teachers here as you can learn from all of them while trying to discover your niche. Your current abilities allow you to diverge into various areas and excel in each of them. I've asked Asuma prior to this to give you a weapon that I think will benefit you so ask him for it later." The Copy Nin praised his female member in hopes of building her confidence. It seemed to work as Sakura looked proudly at Kakashi.

The other Jonin-senseis decided to do the same thing as Kakashi. Kurenai went after the Copy Nin. "You three make me proud as we're a very successful search and rescue team. Your clan abilities are what you are and you should be proud of that. Kiba, you and Akamaru are the heavy hitters of our team and work excellent with each other. Hinata, you aren't the shy girl I remembered even though you're still quite timid. You've grown more confident in yourself and your father has seen that as well. Shino, you're a true Aburame and have always support me and your teammates by using your insects to shield us." Kurenai said proudly. Her team sat with confidence at their sensei's words.

"You all will one day grow to be excellent shinobi but I can only feel that you're stunting your own growth." The red eyed Jonin quickly brought them back down to Earth. Kurenai could see the disappointment in their faces but she needed them to understand her point of view. "I understand that clans are strong for a reason but I always feel that you're restricting yourselves by only learning clan techniques. That's the downfall of your upbringing." Kurenai said.

"Kiba you rely so heavily on Akamaru that if Akamaru was taken out of the battle, you would be half as effective. All your techniques rely on a conjunction with your ninken. Hinata, despite having excellent chakra control, you don't know any Genjutsu or medical Ninjutsu. Also the Byakugan allows 360 vision yet you're restricted to close quarter combat. Shino, you're a logical thinking person. Imagine facing an opponent where your insects can't suck their chakra fast enough. You're extremely vulnerable to Taijutsu and can be easily overcome if your kikaichu can't support you." The Genjutsu Mistress finished.

She could see that her students were thinking about the pros and cons of their clan techniques. "I understand that each of your clans have a way of doing things but I would like all three of you to talk to your family to decide the best course of action. It's my duty as your sensei to help you reach your full potential and I think branching out will accomplish that." Kurenai hoped she didn't speak too harshly. The Genjutsu Mistress needed them to get stronger for the dangers they'll face in the exams. Her team nodded to her, seemingly agreeing with her suggestion. Asuma went next after her.

Asuma grabbed another cigarette from the pack as he looked at his team. The unlit cancer stick laid limply in his mouth. "Ok well how should I say this?" Asuma wondered how to break it to his team. "Well to put it simply, we're the weakest Genin team here." He told his squad. As he expected, Ino objected to the claim. Shikamaru continued to stare at the clouds while Chouji ate his chips. "Ok then Ino, tell me who are we stronger than?" Asuma asked the blond girl.

Ino scanned the area as she looked at all of the teams. She pointed to Kakashi's team. "I'm better than Sakura and I'm pretty sure the rest of our team can take theirs even though Sasuke-kun is there." Ino assured her sensei. Shikamaru rose an eyebrow at the conversation.

"Ino everyone has changed since the Academy. We might be able to win if we plan it out but I believe they're stronger than us. Naruto's one guy I would never want to go against because he's so unpredictable. Sasuke and Sakura were Shinobi and Kunoichi of the Year and they've probably improved since then. Asuma's right to assume that we're weaker than the others." Shikamaru reasoned. Ino didn't like that Shikamaru was saying that they were weak.

"Now we are all at fault for being where we are right now. I take responsibility for not pushing you guys harder while you guys are also responsible for not striving to get stronger. I admit that I wanted you guys to be my team because I knew that the Ino-Shika-Cho team would already have great teamwork. I figured your teamwork along with a few skills from me would allow you guys to easily become Chunin. It was a lazy approach but it had a high possibility of succeeding. That's why I'm going to critique you, just like the other senseis did." Asuma gave a small grin as he lit his cigarette.

"Shikamaru despite your lazy approach to life, you're a genius with a 200 IQ. You assess every situation and find weakness to exploit while also avoiding danger. To me, you're a guaranteed Chunin because you're a leader. You can complain to me all you want on how troublesome it'll be but I know that you would do whatever it took to lead your team to safety. I only worry that you'll one day be stuck in a situation where you can't outsmart your opponent." Asuma critiqued the lazy Nara. Shikamaru muttered troublesome while once again looking at the clouds. He already knew what Asuma was trying to say.

"Chouji, you're a strong individual that always strives to protect his teammate. Akimichi are known for their strength and you're up there with the best of them. I would even say that you're the strongest, in physical strength, among the Genins. Your downfall is your pacifist nature, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Not everyone can be cold bloodied but you have to be able to do what it takes to protect the people you care about." Asuma finished. Chouji swelled with pride but also took the advice to get stronger.

"Ino, in a way, you're like Sakura. You aren't bad in any particular area but you don't excel in anything either. Your clan techniques are a hit or miss without the support of another individual. I suggest you do the same thing Kakashi recommended to Sakura as well." The Sarutobi didn't know how to advise Ino without hurting her feelings. He hoped that he wouldn't have a daughter in the future if she was as troublesome as the blonde female. Ino didn't appreciate the brute honesty but she decide not to voice her displeasure to her sensei again.

"To be honest, I actually planned to withdraw you from the exams. The Chunin Exam is a dangerous event and most senseis like Gai usually hold their teams back for a year. I believe you guys have potential to succeed so I'll give you two weeks to improve your skills. If I feel that you aren't ready, I'll withdraw your admission. Sure I'll receive hell from my dad for withdrawing so late but I would rather have my dad punish me than to send you off to your deaths." Asuma spoke honestly.

Gai noticed that Asuma had pretty much finished so he addressed his own students. "Yosh my youthful students, you're to seek training from all the instructors. It's important to learn about different techniques even if you don't wish to learn them. Your opponent could be skilled in a certain area so it's significant that you know ways to counter them. Your brilliant flames will shine brightly in the exams. Yosh my youthful spirit is ablaze! I shall run 100 laps around Konoha on my hands! If I don't finish it, I'll climb the Hokage Monument 200 times with one hand tied behind my back!" Gai dashed off after giving his students advice.

Everybody decide to split up for the day since Gai left. Lee ran off to find his sensei, proclaiming that he would be the most youthful ninja in the world. Neji, Team 8, Team 10 went home for the day for a variety of reasons. Sakura decided to seek out Kurenai for training in Genjutsu. Tenten asked Asuma for advice on a variety of weapons as a fellow Bukijutsu user. Sasuke asked Kakashi for training on the Sharingan. Zabuza left, hoping to find one of Konoha's Kenjutsu masters. Naruto wondered what the best course of action was.

He decided on introducing Haku to Tsunade. Naruto ran over to where the kunoichi had remained after Zabuza had left. "Haku I want to introduce you to someone." Naruto announced as he grabbed her hand to drag her to see the Sannin. The only problem was that both Tsunade and Shizune had already left. "Looks like they went home. We should go to their place." Naruto said as he walked normally with Haku to his side towards Tsunade's estate.

***With Lee and Gai***

The spandex duo were currently on their tenth lap around Konohagakure. Gai decided to take a brief stop on the Hokage Monument. He was actually patiently waiting for his student to catch up to him. Lee arrived to see Gai doing a series of punches and kicks. "Gai-sensei may I ask you for some advice?" Lee asked while regaining his breath.

"Of course my youthful student, what can I help you with?" Gai answered exuberantly. He noticed that Lee was hesitating in asking his question.

"Do you believe that I have what it takes to be a Chunin even with my 'condition'?" Lee whispered out, unlike his usually eccentric self. Gai frowned as he knew his protégé would never be able to mold chakra because his tenketsu points were ruptured beyond repair. Seeing how a simple yes wouldn't convince the boy, Gai tried a different approach.

"Lee tell me this. Who do you believe is the strongest Genin?" Gai asked much to his disciple's confusion. Lee didn't need to think that long.

"The strongest Genin is Neji-kun." Lee replied with ease.

"Now tell me, who do you believe has the best chance to beat Neji?" Gai questioned. This time the boy took a while longer before coming up with an answer.

"Naruto-kun because he has fought Neji-kun before. He knows how Neji fights as well as his weaknesses." Lee replied. Gai smiled as he expected the answer from the beginning.

"Haven't you noticed that you also meet the same conditions as Naruto-kun since you've both fought Neji before?" Gai responded. He laughed as he saw Lee's face grow into realization. "Lee, you and Naruto-kun are more alike than you think. Both of you were rejected by society because of circumstances beyond your control. The two of you are orphans that were once the Dead Last of your graduation classes. Despite those difficulties, both of you were able to succeed and become Genins. Your youthful passion to become a shinobi helped pave the way towards the path of hard work. Neji-kun and Sasuke may be geniuses in talent but you and Naruto-kun are genius of hard work! Never forget that Lee!" Gai gave his disciple his signature 'nice guy pose.'

Lee's eyes began to water as he gave his own nice guy smile. "Hai Gai-sensei! Thank you for the lesson that I'll never forget. I'll make you proud!" Lee shouted loudly with snot dripping from his nose.

"Lee you've already made me proud!" Gai yelled back as waterfalls fell from his eyes.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The two figures hugged each other making the spandex rub against each other. After a brief hug, the sensei and student continued their laps around Konohagakure with more vigor than before.

***At the Inuzuka Compound***

The usually loud and boisterous Inuzuka Kiba was quiet for once in his life. Tsume Inuzuka and Hana Inuzuka looked at the youngest Inuzuka in confusion. Both woman had brown hair and the Inuzuka's clan markings on their cheeks. Tsume's hair was spikey and disorderly, similar to Kiba's. Unlike the rest of her family, Hana had straight hair that was fastened in a ponytail with two locks framing her face.

Kiba hadn't uttered a single word since he had come home. Akamaru silently followed his master, not knowing what was wrong with him. Tsume decided to break the silence and ask Kiba what was wrong. "What's wrong with you, pup? Cat got your tongue?" Tsume teased as she waited for a retort. It didn't come like it usually did.

"Mom, besides clan techniques, what other jutsus do you know?" Kiba asked in a calm voice. The Inuzuka matriarch wondered who took her son and replaced him with this quiet pup. Regardless, she decided to answer the question.

"I don't know much beside clan techniques. Other than the jutsus every shinobi knows, I can't say I know much else." Tsume answered as she continued to think if she knew any other techniques.

"What about you Hana?" Kiba asked as he wasn't pleased with his mother's answer.

"I know medical techniques since I'm a veterinarian but other than that, I'm the same as mom." Hana replied truthfully. Kiba frowned at her answer. "What's wrong with you Kiba? You never act like this, I'm starting to wonder where the real Kiba is?" Hana was perplexed at her younger sibling's behavior. Kiba summarized what Kurenai had told his team earlier.

Tsume and Hana pondered the suggestion as Kiba finished his story. "Pup, you're thinking too much about it. Sure we're a clan but we don't have any strict rules and regulations like most. You're free to train however you like to get stronger as long it isn't morally wrong. Kurenai never told you to stop learning our techniques, she only told you to expand your arsenal of skills. I think it's a good idea since a shinobi should use whatever to get an advantage." Tsume advised. She liked Kurenai's proposal since it took a strong women to oppose how things were ran.

"Look Kiba, no one is telling you to go out there and start practicing Genjutsu. Just learn techniques that will compliment your skill set. From what you said, you have a lot of teachers to ask advice from. Plus mom and I are here to help you if you need us." Hana told her younger brother. Usually she would tease him for being such a worrywart but she decided to hold off on that since she knew Kiba was growing up as a shinobi.

Kiba smiled big as he stopped worrying. "You're right. I need to stop thinking about pointless things. I'm an Inuzuka and I'm a man of action." Kiba shouted with Akamaru's barking in the background. The ninken was glad that his master was back.

"You're a _boy _of action. You have a long way to go before you could be called a man." Hana teased as she left the room. Kiba ran after her as the Inuzuka Compound was filled with laughter.

***At the Aburame Compound***

Shino was having the same conversation with his childhood friend and father. "Your sensei makes a valid point. It is logical for you to pursue other areas of training as it can only benefit you. You have my permission to do whatever you see fit." Shibi was with a stoic voice.

Shino nodded slightly as he headed back to his room with Torune following. They were testing the battle capabilities of Shino's new species. All was normal inside the Aburame Compound as the only noise heard was the sound of buzzing.

***On the way towards the Hyuuga Compound***

Hinata and Neji were walking gracefully to their destination. Neji noticed that Hinata seemed tense. _'She must be thinking about what Kurenai-san told her.' _The male thought as he watched his cousin. They were on better terms since Neji stopped talking about fate. Their relationship was restored to what it once was prior to his father's death. "Hinata-sama, I believe you should do what you believe is right. Regardless of your decision, you must speak to Hiashi-sama to request training in the main family techniques." Neji snapped Hinata out of her daze. They arrived at the main house.

He escorted Hinata to Hiashi's room, located in the center of the main house. They were given permission to enter the room. Both bowed in respect as they were in front of the Hyuuga's clan leader. Neji was about to leave when he was stopped. "Neji stay for a moment, I wish to speak to you as well." Hiashi ordered. The branch member did as told and sat back down.

"I've been informed that the Chunin Exam is approaching as well as the fact that you're both participating. Failure will not be permitted as you'll be representing the Hyuuga Clan. You're to win the event and prove why the Hyuuga Clan is feared throughout the Elemental Nations." Hiashi said in a commanding voice. Hinata shook in fear of her father. He had changed since her uncle had died and had become quite cold hearted.

"F-Father I wish to speak to y-you about a proposal of K-Kurenai-sensei's." Hinata stuttered out those few words.

"Speak clearly child!" Hiashi roared at his eldest. Hinata felt oppressed under her father's gaze. She quickly told him Kurenai's proposal, trying her best not to stutter. Hiashi's face turned to a frown. "That woman shouldn't be interfering with clan affairs. I was right to kick her from her position as your escort. She simply doesn't respect our traditions or our clan. I'll inform Hokage-sama that you would like to be transferred to another team." Hiashi said coldly.

Hinata stared at her father in pure shock. She gritted her teeth in anger as she wished to stay on Team 8. The Hyuuga heiress could only hope for a miracle that something would change her father's mind. That miracle came in the form of Neji. "Hiashi-sama, may I please have a word?" Neji asked politely. He was acknowledged by Hiashi to speak. "I believe that the training would benefit Hinata-sama as I've received the same proposal from my sensei. Gai-sensei has told us that we should study different techniques to learn their weaknesses." Neji said respectfully.

Hiashi narrowed his white eyes at his nephew. He had never thought Neji would speak up for his daughter. That hadn't happened since Hizashi's death, which had made his nephew distance himself from others. Seeing his nephew's change of heart, sparked something within Hiashi. "Very well, you're allowed to learn about other jutsus and you're allowed to stay on Team 8. You may leave, Neji stay for a bit." Hiashi dismissed Hinata.

He was able to catch a smile form on his eldest as the she walked out of the room. The clan leader turned his attention to Neji. "Neji I have another task for you as well." He told the boy. "Recently, there's been a rumor going around that Uzumaki Naruto has a Taijutsu style similar to the Juken. I want you to confirm whether this rumor is true or not."

Neji steeled his body to avoid twitching. "Hai Hiashi-sama. What shall I do once I confirm the rumor?" The branch member asked, hoping his voice didn't betray him.

"If the Uzumaki boy learned the style on his own, I'll personally request an audience with Hokage-sama to accuse him of stealing clan techniques. If he was taught by a member of the Hyuuga Clan, that person will be sentence to death for revealing clan secrets." Hiashi informed, causing Neji to sweat. "For now concentrate on the Chunin Exams, you're dismissed."

Neji bowed before exiting the room. As he left, Hiashi began contemplating if what he was doing was right. He already suspected that either Neji or Hinata had helped Naruto in creating the Taijutsu. Hopefully his warning to his nephew would prevent the clan council from catching wind of the news. Letting out a sigh that was unbecoming of a clan head, Hiashi could only wish his wife and brother were by his side.

***At the Nara Compound***

The Ino-Shika-Cho were at the Nara's for the weekly gathering. Shikamaru was playing shogi with his father but his thoughts weren't entirely on the game. Chouji and Ino was sitting nearby as they chatted. Shikaku noticed that his son wasn't paying attention to the game like usual. "What's on your mind son? I just took your general like it was child's play." Shikaku asked. He was intrigued and worried at what his son was thinking about.

"Dad be honest with me. Would we survive the Chunin Exams?" Shikamaru asked. Choza and Inoichi came over when they heard the topic of the conversation. Shikaku looked at his son, dead in the eye.

"No." A simple answer came from Shikaku. Shikamaru could only frown in response. "I see that you already knew that. At your current abilities, one of you would die in one of the stages. If you get lucky, you might be able to pass without casualty. On the other hand, all of you could die if you're unlucky." Shikaku explained his answer. Ino and Chouji were terrified at the prospect of death. They didn't like Shikaku's grim answer.

"Come on Shikaku, I believe they can pass." Inoichi commented, hoping to raise the young ones' spirits.

"Inoichi, Shikaku's right. They're simply not ready for this exam. Maybe a year from now but not currently. We'll need to speak with Hokage-sama about withdrawing their admissions." Choza replied. The Akimichi head trusted Shikaku's judgment and he believed Inoichi did as well. Inoichi relented as he didn't want his princess to be in danger even if her feelings would be hurt.

"Two weeks." Shikamaru's voice grabbed the older men's attention. "Asuma-sensei gave us two weeks to prove that we're ready for the exams." The Nara heir informed. "I never thought I would say this… Dad I want you to train me for the next two weeks." Shikamaru's tone indicated that he was serious about training. "I want, no I need, to get strong enough to protect my team." His voice was full of conviction. Shikaku was impressed with his son's attitude and no doubt Yoshino would be as well when she heard.

Chouji got up from his seated position. "Don't worry Shika, you won't do this alone. Dad I also want you to train me for the exams. I want the strength to be able to protect my teammates from danger. That's my job and I need to get stronger to do that." Chouji's eyes burned with a fiery spirit. Choza gladly agreed as his son was slowly becoming a real Akimichi.

Inoichi looked to his daughter expectantly as he waited for her to ask for training as well. Ino noticed her dad staring and knew he was going to be disappointed with her answer. "Sorry daddy but Asuma-sensei already gave me a training schedule. I won't be practicing our clan techniques until I get physically stronger." Ino apologized to her father. Inoichi's spirits came crashing down as he began sulking in a corner. The mothers, who were coming home from shopping, could only wonder what everyone was laughing about.

***With Naruto and Haku***

Naruto and Haku were making their way towards the Senju Compound. Haku was walking to the side of Naruto when the blonde suddenly held an arm out in front of her. "Come on guys. I thought we talked about this. Rocks aren't square shaped, they're more jagged like." Naruto complained out loud. Up ahead was a square rock in the middle of the road. The rock poof out smoke and out came three small figures.

"I told you Konohamaru. Boss told us that rocks aren't squares." A boy with circular glasses spoke to Konohamaru. Snot was dripping from his nose and threatened to stain his blue shirt.

"Yeah you're right Udon, I should listen to my strategist more often." The Sandaime's grandson replied.

"Hey Boss, how are you today?" A cutesy voice came from below Naruto. Haku looked down to see a girl with orange hair. The girl's hair was tied in a way that it seemed to disobey the laws of gravity. Her pink shirt matched her hair ties. All three children wore a green variety of googles on their forehead similar to Naruto's old googles.

"Hey Moegi-chan, I'm about to take my friend Haku to see Baa-chan." The blonde replied as he squatted down to girl's height. The rest of Konohamaru squad came up to the two shinobis.

"Boss is she your girlfriend?" Konohamaru asked while wiggling his pinky finger suggestively. The two teens looked at each other and blushed bright red. They were remembering how close they were the night in Wave.

"N-No Haku's m-my friend. We aren't l-like that." Naruto replied as he did his best Hinata impression. The jinchuriki blushed even brighter as the boy began to laugh.

"Stop that Konohamaru-kun, you're embarrassing them." Moegi said as she punched Konohamaru in the noggin. Udon ignored his friends as they started bickering.

"Boss, can we come with you to see Tsunade-sama?" Udon asked innocently. Naruto agreed and the group headed off. Konohamaru ran ahead of the pack, proclaiming that he was the leader. When the boy turned back around, he ran straight into something or rather someone.

"Hanabi-sama are you okay?" Ko asked in panic, his brown hair sticking up. The male Hyuuga was dressed in the traditional Hyuuga's black kimono. He was escorting the young princess on her way back from the park when a little boy ran into her. "You! Apologize for running into Hanabi-sama." Ko said angrily, not noticing who he was speaking to.

Naruto and company came straight away when they heard yelling. Naruto saw that Konohamaru had his face on the ground while a little girl that looked like Hinata was on her butt. "Sorry about that, I should've warned him to be more careful." Naruto apologized to Ko as he picked up Konohamaru. "Come on, you apologize too." Naruto told the scarf wearing boy.

Konohamaru did as told. "I'm sorry for running into you. I should've paid more attention to my surroundings. I guess I still have a long way until I become a shinobi." The boy chuckled lightly while rubbing the back of his head.

"You'll never become a shinobi. You're a talentless peasant." Hanabi berated, her white eyes glaring at him. Her long brown hair swayed in the wind as she dusted her blue shirt. Konohamaru was insulted and he was going to give the girl a piece of his mind.

"Are you saying you're better than me, you pupil less girl?" Konohamaru insulted the Hyuuga.

"I have no pupils because I'm a Hyuuga. I'm a part of a clan unlike you clan less civilian. My name is Hyuuga Hanabi, the future Hyuuga clan head." Hanabi rebuked back.

"I'm a part of clan you idiot. My name is Sarutobi Konohamaru and my grandfather is the Hokage." The boy yelled back. Both Ko and Hanabi were shocked at the boy's identity.

"I guess that shows every family has a rotten apple." Hanabi smirked as she saw steam rise from Konohamaru's head. Naruto quickly picked up his underling to prevent any further incidents.

"Boss let me go. She insulted my pride and if I don't get her back, I'm not Sarutobi Konohamaru." Konohamaru shouted as he struggled to free himself from the blonde's grasp.

"Calm down Konohamaru. A shinobi is supposed to control his emotions remember." Naruto advised the young Sarutobi. Konohamaru instantly stopped trying to wiggle himself free and began to calm down. "You, as well, shouldn't instigate a fight when someone already apologized." The blonde told Hanabi. Hanabi didn't like that she was getting scolded by some stranger so she began walking away. "Tell Neji and Hinata I said hi, okay little firecracker." Naruto yelled out as he let Konohamaru down.

Hanabi blushed at the nickname and she ran back to Naruto. "Don't call me that, my name is Hanabi." She shouted in protest as she pointed her finger to the blond. Haku and Naruto chuckled at the scene. Naruto leaned down to Hanabi's height.

"Well your name means firework but you're still little, so you're little firecracker." Naruto said as he tussled her hair. Hanabi tried to back off but she felt the hand soothing. No one except Hinata ever touched her hair. Hanabi began to calm down when Ko's voice rang out.

"Stopping touching Hanabi-sama's hair with your filthy hands." Ko barked to the jinchuriki. Much to Hanabi's displease, Naruto did as told. The blonde shinobi gave his best fake smile to Ko.

"I'm pretty sure I washed my hands early." Naruto joked as he sniffed his hands.

"Tha-." Ko was interrupted by a female voice.

"What are you people doing in front of my house?" Tsunade asked as she stepped out of the house. She then caught a glimpse of her favorite blond. "Naru-chan you came to visit me." Tsunade said as she gave him a death hug. Luckily Shizune came out of the house to save Naruto's life.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you Tsunade-sama, we'll be taking our leave." Ko said as he began dragging Hanabi away. Hanabi looked back at the crowd.

"See you later, little firecracker." Naruto gave a smile and waved as he regained his breath. Hanabi gave a small wave before she turned forward. The Hyuugas then disappeared from sight. "Baa-chan I thought we talked about your hugs. I'm trying to stay alive as long as possible." Naruto reminded his godmother.

"It's just rare that you come over to visit." Tsunade said as she got him in a head lock. "Why are you here anyway?" Tsunade asked as she ignored the shouts of the little ones saying the monster was killing the boss. The Senju released her hold on the Uzumaki.

"I want to introduce you to someone, this is Haku." Naruto said as he showed Haku to Tsunade. Tsunade studied the ice user from head to toe. The ice user felt naked as Tsunade examined her figure.

"Naru-chan I'm so proud of you." Tsunade said much to everyone's, except Shizune's, confusion. "Although you're a little young to be bringing a girl home to introduce me, she seems like a nice girl." Tsunade smirked. The teens' faces lit up like fireworks as heat rose up to their faces.

"I was introducing Haku as my friend! She just arrived here from Wave and she knows some remedies. That's why I'm introducing you to her." Naruto corrected hastily. Tsunade and Shizune sighed in disappointment. Haku was inwardly feeling disappointment at the blonde's words.

'_He always denies it so quickly. Am I that unattractive to him?' _The new Konoha kunoichi mused._ 'Wait what am I thinking? We're only friends.'_ Haku tried to shake her head free of the thoughts. Unknown to her, two females were watching her with small smirks on their faces. They began conjuring up a plan. "Hello my name is Yuki Haku and I'm friends with Naruto. I've always wanted to meet Tsunade of the Sannin." Haku introduced herself to everyone.

Tsunade finally thought of the perfect plan. "Hello Haku, I would like to test you." The blonde woman said. "For that we need to go to the water hole!" Tsunade exclaimed, which gained cheers from the kids. "Alright kids go get your swimsuits and meet back here in five minutes." She ordered and the kids dashed home. Shizune went back inside to get swimsuits for her and her mentor as well. Tsunade followed after her to discuss the plan. Haku and Naruto didn't understand what was going on.

Haku looked to Naruto for clarification but he only shrugged and said to go with the flow. In five minutes, the Konohamaru squad returned already in their swimsuits. "Let's go!" Tsunade marched on as she and Shizune were followed by everyone else. Tsunade and Shizune were wearing white jackets over their swimsuits. Luckily the water hole wasn't far, otherwise every male in the area would be ogling the two medics. As soon as kids saw water, they immediately ran off and jumped in the cool water.

As the kids played in the water, Shizune laid two blankets down on the ground. She took out a bottle of suntan lotion and began rubbing it on her body. "Boss, Haku-san come down in the water and play. The water feels really good." Konohamaru yelled as he was splashed with water. Naruto wasn't one to refuse so he began undressing.

"Sorry Naruto but you won't be playing just yet. I want to test you as well." Tsunade essentially killed the blonde's joy. Haku chuckled lightly at the jinchuriki's disappointment. The Sannin ordered the kids to come out and put some sunscreen on. They did as told while Haku and Naruto followed Tsunade across the water. The Senju stopped in front of a waterfall. "I want you to climb this waterfall up and down while balancing a kunai with chakra. This is an advanced chakra control exercise that I made up." Tsunade said.

Naruto stared at the 100 feet waterfall and felt miniature in front of the towering water column. He took out a pair of kunai and handed one to Haku. Naruto took one step on the gushing water and felt how difficult it was to maintain a constant flow of chakra. Feeling agitated, Naruto took a few steps back to calm down. He started by balancing the kunai is his palm. With the kunai afloat, Naruto ran up the waterfall. He barely made it five feet before his control slipped. Naruto came plummeting down and caused a huge splash when he landed in the water.

Naruto could hear his godmother having fits of laughter as he surfaced. He looked around for Haku but couldn't find her. He looked up and found her standing on the waterfall like it was the ground while also balancing the kunai. Tsunade followed Naruto's gaze and spotted Haku. She was filled with mix emotions. Ecstatic that someone so young had such excellent chakra control while also sad that her plan to make Haku and Naruto drenched in water failed. Haku walked back down the waterfall.

"Haku I'm beyond impressed that you have that level of chakra control. Have you done this exercise before?" Tsunade asked.

"In my travels, I had to learn how to climb waterfalls with chakra. I've never actually tried it before with kunai balancing. Zabuza-sama said I was born with great chakra control so I trained it until I was able to do one handed seals." Haku answered. The Senju was now even more surprised as there was only a few people in the world who can do one handed seals. One handed seals were very unstable as one must have an amazing control on their chakra.

"Becoming a medic-nin seems to be a great path for you to follow. I would gladly take you as an apprentice, if you would like that of course." Tsunade offered the Yuki an apprenticeship as she might never find one as talented as the one standing before her. Naruto had lifted himself out of the water when he heard the news. Haku was shocked to be offered such a position from the best medic in all of the elemental nations. She had always wished to learn medical Ninjutsu during her travels but never had time as she was forced to live on the run.

"Thank you for offering me the apprenticeship. I would gladly accept the position Tsunade-sama." Haku bowed as she smiled proudly. Naruto tackled Haku in happiness, making them fall into the water. Tsunade smirked that her plan would succeed thanks to her godson's brashness.

"Come on. Let's get you out of those clothes." Tsunade said as she began to walk back. Naruto helped a drenched Haku out of water. Her clothes were soaked thanks to the blond. The boy apologized as the duo ran to dry land. Naruto took off his shirt and pants so it could air dry. He began playing in the water with the kids while Haku changed in the woods. She came out a few seconds later with a towel wrapped around her body.

"Tsunade-sama, thank you for the swimsuit." Haku thanked her new mentor for having an extra swimsuit. For some reason, it had matched her figure perfectly. Tsunade initiated the last part of her plan.

"Naru-chan look over here!" Tsunade yelled out which made Naruto look in that direction. In that instant, Tsunade got behind Haku and pulled off the towel. Haku was wearing a light blue two piece that highlighted her figure. The bikini top wrapped around her B-cup breasts while the bikini bottom showcased her long legs. Naruto was immobilized by the sight as he never imagined what Haku would look like underneath her clothes. Haku let out a girly shriek as she crouched down to cover herself. Shizune whipped out a camera from her bag and took a picture of the scene.

"I got the picture Tsunade-sama!" Shizune yelled out as she waved the camera. Tsunade squealed in excitement as she went over to look at the picture. Haku looked up to see Naruto still staring at her even though Udon was splashing water at him. The two reddened when they made eye contact with each other.

"Um you look good…I mean great Haku." Naruto said bashfully causing Haku to turn a greater shade of red at the compliment. The blonde submerged into the water to prevent himself from saying any more embarrassing things. Her chest was filled with a warm feeling as she remembered how Naruto was captivated by her. Getting rid of her blush, she went into the water to play with the kids as well.

***Meanwhile with Asuma and Tenten***

The two Bukijutsu users were currently at Dangoya while conversing about different weapons. "So you use scrolls that have your weapons sealed in them to attack. That's very interesting, you need some level of understanding in Fuinjutsu to do that." Asuma said as he was intrigued on how Tenten used weapons.

"Naruto taught me some Fuinjutsu and we're currently trying to research on how to fire the weapons at different intervals." Tenten replied as she took a piece of dango from the skewer.

"That would be very convenient since your opponent would be caught off guard by the surprise attack. Maybe you can find a way for the seals to apply elemental nature to your weapons. That would give you an even greater advantage in battle." Asuma suggested. Tenten thought that was an interesting idea.

"I need to go find Naruto to see if he can do that for me." Tenten said as she laid her money down on the table.

"I believe he was looking for Tsunade-sama when we left the training grounds." Asuma told the weapon user as she waved goodbye. Tenten headed over to the Senju Compound, only to find it empty. She asked an old lady if she had seen Tsunade anywhere. The old lady directed her towards the water hole. The bun haired girl headed to the water hole and stopped when she heard laughter. The scene she saw was Naruto playing with the black haired girl that was with Zabuza at the training grounds. The Konohamaru Squad was resting as Shizune was giving them juice. Tsunade was tanning in the sun.

Tenten noticed that the girl and Naruto seemed to be having a good time playing in the water together, if their laughter was any indication. She felt an unknown tinge in her chest that she never felt before. Her heart was tugging painfully as she continued to watch. She wanted to move and ask Naruto about Asuma's suggestion but her feet refused to move forward. Instead, Tenten slowly backed away from the scene and ran back into town. She didn't understand what was happening but she needed to get away.

She hopped across the roofs to get home as quickly as possible. The brunette was finding it difficult to breathe even though she wasn't tired. She landed in front of Higarashi's and ran upstairs, ignoring her parents' shouting. Tenten closed the door to her room as soon as she got in. She leaned on the door and slowly slid her body down to the floor. She held her hand on her heart as it continued to beat rapidly as she remembered the scene once more. Her chest tighten again and pain spread throughout her body. Tenten didn't understand what the sensation was but she knew one thing. The brunette didn't like the feeling.

[1] Shibuki's father was never named so I based his name off of Shibuki's. Shibuki means 'splash' so I chose 'rapids', which is Hayase in Japanese, for his father's name.

**Reviews:**

**Skeek622 – **I don't have any plans for the twins at the moment but your idea sounds interesting. I would like to use it with your permission. Samui and Fu will make their appearance in the next chapter. Naruto's relationship with Tenten is on its turning point.

**APeaceOfPie4Everybody011 – **Thanks for the support for this story and its sequel.

**emilbootanimefreak –**Shadow clones get all the spotlight with all its uses so I wanted the elemental bunshins to have their uses without being overpowering.

**uzuuchi007 – **Thanks for reading!

**loganhunter2 –** Everything you said is true so it would be better to split the story in two parts. I hope I can one day receive a 10 from you as that would mean I wrote an amazing chapter or scene.

**bloodlinenaruto – **The pairing is Naruto x Haku x Tenten x Fu x Samui.

**buterflypus – **Thank you for reading and reviewing.

**NinjaFang1331 – **Thank you for the constant support!

**BelleArcher – **I swore Haku and Zabuza's death was unjustified. They could've been such awesome characters but freaking Gato was a sleaze bag. I thought people would say that I was bashing Sasuke and Sakura so I'm glad people see that I'm trying to develop them.

**Ryuujin96 –** I have several different ways Naruto will use the Bunshins but none of the ways are final yet. Glad you enjoyed the fight, I don't know to write fight scenes well yet. Zabuza will be really scared out of his mind when he meets Mei again.

**gwb620 – **Sorry as much as I'm a fan of NaruHina, there's just too much stories with them as a couple. Thanks for enjoying the story though.

**Apedreitor – **Yeah I understand that the opponents that come later wouldn't go down from a simple kunai but I believe a bandit would. I like that Fuinjutsu idea but I think he would have to learn more about seals from Jiraiya before I could use your idea.

**Meow382 – **First off, I would like to say wow on how much you have written. I would like to thank you for spending so much time to write all that. The lighting clone on Naruto Wiki is a lightning shadow clone. My lightning clone is just a regular elemental bunshin so it's C-Rank. I already planned out that Naruto was going to learn **Kirigakure no Jutsu **and **Shunshin no Jutsu** but I needed to introduce Zabuza and Haku first. I only made some original D-Rank jutsu so Naruto can see how elemental training changes his jutsu. Where in the world did the holy church of the log come from!? It that your idea? It is quite…interesting to say the least. Your Jutsu guide is very informative and I'll definitely use it. I would also like to use the ideas that you suggested as well.

**NarutoFan11 – **This story is based loosely on the Canon storyline. I wanted Naruto to be a little older when he met Mikoto. I agree that I should use more dialog but it's difficult for me. Again it's based loosely on the Canon storyline.

**imgonnadie – **Thank you for reviewing and reading!

**noman09 – **Thank you for answering my question. I didn't want my story taken down because of that. If you would like, I could put a word counter on how long the story is without the review response and author note.

**fusion721 – **Anko's backstory is so sad and I had hoped that she would have been in the harem. She barely got beat out by Samui who made an amazing comeback. She'll still be involved in the story along with the rest of the girls that lost in the polls.

**chibi monsta – **I love the mushy parts as much as the next guy. I hope I did it justice.

**Akritedes – **That's what I'm hoping, which will be one of the reasons Naruto leaves to train.

**narmulti – **Thanks for the support!

**sparrowhawk13 – **I wanted to expand on several characters since there's a lot in the Narutoverse. You will find out why Zabuza is afraid of Mei pretty soon. Everybody will change for the better, well not everybody but most. Kakashi is on the crossroads on how to redeem himself. It will take time for him to become a better role model for Naruto.

**Vibrolux61 – **I wanted a more emotional impact for Naruto so that's why I made him see Mikoto's grave.


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/23/16.

**A.N.**

Hey everyone, long time no see! Sorry for the wait, it was hard to find time to write. I'm finally off of school so I should have more time to write. The next couple of chapters will be slow as I've decided to focus on the characters leading up to the Chunin Exams. Each chapter will be in the point of view of one of the Konoha 12. Don't worry as Naruto will still be there. Tell me how I did and enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 9: The Caged Bird and the Insecure Flower**

The sun was setting in Konohagakure as Naruto made his way home from Tsunade's. He was thinking about how he should train for the next two weeks. While he agreed on Kakashi's suggestion, he wasn't sure if he should train exclusively Ninjutsu. The blonde was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice a figure calling his name. Naruto continued to walk until he was forcefully halted by someone lifting him by his collar.

"Naruto I've been calling you for a while." Iruka said as he struggled to hold Naruto up by his collar. The boy turned his head to see his favorite sensei.

"Iruka-sensei, how are you doing?" Naruto asked before remembering he was in mid-air. "Why are you lifting me up, I swear I haven't done a prank since I graduated." The blonde confessed.

"Calm down Naruto." Iruka replied as he set the younger boy down. "I just wanted to see how you've been doing. We haven't had time to talk since you became a Genin. Are you free at the moment?" The scarred Chunin asked.

"Yeah let's talk over Ichiraku's ramen!" Naruto answered excitedly. He ran off towards the ramen stand, not waiting for a reply. Iruka could only shake his head but he was glad Naruto was still the same. The Chunin made it to the stand five minutes after Naruto. That was all the time that was needed for Naruto to finish three bowls of miso ramen. Iruka order two bowls of beef ramen as he sat down.

"So Naruto how is it being an official shinobi?" Iruka asked as his bowl came. Naruto told Iruka, with Ayame and Teuchi listening as well, about his training with his team and their latest mission to Wave. The older individuals sympathized with the blonde as he told them how he experienced his first kill. They then imagined this Haku that Naruto spoke highly of.

"So Naruto, it seems to me that you like this Haku girl." Ayame teased from behind the counter.

"Of course I like Haku." Naruto replied. "She's kind and strong. Even though I've only known her for a couple of weeks, it's so easy to connect to her. She accepts me as me and not as something else. I know that we're going to be great friends." Naruto answered truthfully. The rest wasn't expecting such a heartfelt answer.

"Aww." Ayame cooed. "You have to introduce us, especially after hearing your description of her. We have to approve of her before your relationship goes any further." Ayame said as she imagined Naruto getting married. The ramen girl thought the girl he was going to end up with was Tenten but it looks like this Haku girl was in the lead. Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean you have to approve of her?" Naruto asked obliviously. The older men snickered at the young male.

"Ayame means that we have to approve of Haku before she becomes your girlfriend." Iruka chuckled at the boy's innocence. Naruto's brain registered what Iruka said and blood rushed to his face.

"Alright that's enough teasing. Let the boy eat in peace." Teuchi said as he smiled. He whipped another batch of noodles and laid down another bowl for his favorite customer.

"So Naruto what's on your agenda for tomorrow?" Iruka asked as he grabbed his glass of water.

"I'm not sure yet. I need to train for the Chunin Exams coming up in two weeks." Naruto answered in between bites. Iruka nearly spitted out the water but restrained himself since Ayame was directly in front of him.

"Why are you participating in the Chunin Exams? You just made Genin less than six months ago!" Iruka asked worryingly.

"Kakashi-sensei deemed us ready for the Exams and I'm excited to see shinobis from other villages." Naruto answered, not at all concerned.

"Naruto, people die in these Exams. I don't think you understand how dangerous it is." Iruka honestly didn't feel that the blond was ready to take the exams especially since this would be the biggest Chunin Exams ever.

"Iruka-sensei people die on missions as well. I understand how dangerous it'll be so I'm trying to think of ways to prepare myself. If I withdraw from the exams just because it's dangerous then I might as well quit being a shinobi." Naruto replied seriously. Iruka was shocked by Naruto's maturity and sighed as he wasn't able to prevent Naruto's participation.

"So what do you plan to do for the next two weeks?" The Chunin asked as he calmed down.

"I don't know. In the mornings, I have team training for the next two weeks with the other teams. Kakashi-sensei told us to train in the afternoons but I don't know what to train. Kakashi-sensei suggested that I train with him in Ninjutsu but I feel like I shouldn't just focus on one area." Naruto replied.

"What teams are you training with?" Iruka asked.

"Team 8, Team 9, and Team 10." Naruto answered as he took a gulp of the broth. Iruka was shell shocked by this new information. All of the new graduates would be in the Chunin Exams! The Chunin wondered what was wrong with their Jonin senseis.

"Why not just train with everyone?" Iruka suggested. Naruto stopped eating and put a hand to his chin. He was pondering what Iruka suggested. Then an idea struck him.

"I got it! Instead of training with the senseis, I'm going to train with the other Genins. That way we can help each other improve." Naruto proclaimed as he slammed his money onto the counter. "Thanks Iruka-sensei. Bye Ayame-neechan and Teuchi-ojisan." Naruto shouted as he used **Shunshin** to leave. Iruka stared wide eyed that Naruto knew the **Shunshin no Jutsu. **He then shrugged and went back to his ramen since Naruto wasn't the unpredictable shinobi for nothing.

***Day 1***

Neji rose from his slumber before the sun even cracked the horizon. He grabbed his garb that he placed out the night before. He silently headed to the bathroom to wash up for the day. In five minutes, Neji had finished preparing. For as long as he could remember, he did this exact routine every day. Without missing a beat, he exited his room and was greeted to his fellow branch members. Neji gave quick greetings before exiting the branch house. He left the small house as he made his way towards the much larger main house. He didn't need to think of his destination as his feet knew where to go. He waited patiently at the gate for Hinata.

"Neji-niisan." A soft voice called out to him. Neji turned to the direction of the voice. There was Hinata, still avoiding eye contact. It irked Neji that she was so timid, although he was part of the reason for her shyness. In the past, he would constantly berate her for her kind personality. The male thought she was pitying the branch members and he didn't want to be pitied. It was only after his wake up call with Naruto that Neji looked at his cousin in a different light.

Hinata was the only main house member that treated the branch members as equals. His mind was truly clouded then. Now that he knew better, he made it his duty to protect Hinata. The problem was Hinata's personality. She was kind but that kindness was also a weakness. He clearly saw this when he observed Hinata's spars with Hanabi. Despite advantages in experience and strength, Hinata refused to strike her younger sister. This, in turn, got her scolded by Hiashi.

"Good morning, Hinata-sama. Let us make our way to the training ground." Neji greeted. The duo began to walk towards their destination. Neji was thinking about the conversation he and Hinata had with Hiashi. _'Hiashi-sama expects either me or Hinata-sama to win the Chunin Exams.' _Neji mused. Neji frowned at the difficulty of the task. While not impossible, Neji would need to beat several strong competitors. He then remembered a certain blonde and his Taijutsu skills. He would need to talk to Naruto later.

The duo arrived at the training ground in relative silence as Neji spent most of the time musing to himself. Gai and Lee were already there, spending their limitless amounts of energy exercising. The male Hyuuga inwardly groaned at the two doing jumping jacks. He wished Tenten would arrive soon because he couldn't handle the two by himself. The torture lasted for ten agonizing minutes before his female teammate appeared. Neji recognized that she wasn't her usual self.

Usually the brunette would greet the team when she arrived. "Hello Tenten." Neji greeted. He received a weak reply back. Something was clearly off with his teammate. Neji left it alone as he wasn't the type to pry into people's business. Unfortunately his sensei and other teammate weren't as considerate.

"What's wrong Tenten?" Lee asked with concern. Tenten shook her head as she said nothing was wrong. The male Hyuuga was now sure that something was bothering his female teammate. He exchanged glances with Gai, who looked equally concerned. They unanimously decided to not pry any further. Finally the last person, Naruto, arrived on the grounds. Neji saw Tenten tense up when the blonde arrived. He had his suspicions and decided to talk to the blonde after team training. The twelve Genins waited for further instructions from their senseis.

Kurenai was the first to speak. "Today we'll be working on stealth. The reason for this training is because there might be situations where you're required to hide your presence. You guys will be given a five minute head start to hide. After five minutes, I and the rest of the senseis will attempt to find you. If we physically touch you, consider yourselves caught. This is a no combat exercise so you cannot engage in battle." Neji saw that Naruto had raised his hand. "And that also means no traps." Kurenai added. The jinchuriki lowered his hand. Several of the people chuckled at the blonde's disappointment. "Now split up into your teams and time starts now!"

Neji nodded at his teammates and the three sprang into the forest. They each stopped once a minute had passed. "Do we have a plan?" Tenten asked. Neji noticed that she seemed to somewhat regained her energy. The trio thought to themselves, hoping to formulate a plan of some kind.

"Alright I believe I have a plan." Neji spoke up. "We'll use my Doujutsu to see if anyone is in the vicinity. That way, we're prepared if someone is nearby." He suggested. Tenten gave her own suggestion.

"We should each hide at different levels. Lee should stay on the ground since he's the fastest one of us. He should be able to escape for a few seconds. Neji should be on a tree branch so he could get a better visual. I'll be at the very top of the tree to see if there are any movements in the forest." She proposed. The trio agreed to the plan.

"Yosh let's go!" Lee yelled excitingly. Tenten was quick to reprimand him.

"Alright get into position." Neji commanded. His teammates stopped bickering and went to their hiding spots. Lee hid inside a bush as his outfit blended in with the shrubbery. Tenten was at the very top of the tree. Meanwhile, Neji situated himself behind a tree truck. **"Byakugan." **Neji quietly activated his doujutsu.

The male Hyuuga focused to see if he could spot anyone. Minutes passed and there was no one in sight. The use of his doujutsu was beginning to be a strain on his chakra. He momentarily deactivated his Doujutsu and in that second the enemy pounced. Roots captured Neji and held him in place. _'This is a Genjutsu.' _Neji instantly realized. He stopped the flow of his chakra before overloading his chakra. This essential disrupted the foreign chakra and the Genjutsu broke.

Neji remembered that Lee was unable to disrupt chakra so Neji went to his location. Just as he suspected, Lee seemed to be struggling against something. **"Byakugan." **Neji reactivated his Doujutsu, in case someone was hiding. Noticing that the coast was clear, Neji went to Lee. The Hyuuga placed a hand on his teammate's shoulder and applied his own chakra. This ended the Genjutsu for Lee. Behind him, he spotted Tenten coming down from the tree.

Sudden realization struck Neji. "Shit." He cursed as he pulled Lee. "Tenten disperse!" The Hyuuga barked out to his other teammate. Tenten did as told and leapt away. _'Kurenai-san planned this out. She most likely asked Gai-sensei the range of my doujutsu and how long I can maintain it. She then trapped us in a Genjutsu, knowing that only I and Tenten can break out if it. We would be forced to help out Lee, which gathered us in the same location."_

Neji's observation was right on the mark as Kurenai was upon him and Lee. Luckily Lee had gotten out of his stupor fast enough, barely dodging Kurenai's hand. "Sorry kids but I got a bet to win." Kurenai apologized before another Kurenai appeared behind them.

"Lee there's a clone behind us." Neji informed his teammate. Lee got the message and jumped in the air, making the clone hit air.

"Man you guys are craftier than I thought." Kurenai confessed. "Too bad I have back up." She smirked.

Neji's eyes were able to see someone was coming at him fast but his body couldn't react fast enough. Gai stormed in and tagged Neji on the shoulder. The three stopped with Lee and Tenten appearing later on. "I didn't expect to find Gai-sensei." Tenten confessed.

"Sensei even as an enemy, you continue to shine!" Lee praised Gai. The sensei gave him the nice guy pose.

"You fed me false information." Neji concluded. Kurenai gave a small smirk.

"Not necessarily, all I told you was that I had a bet to win. I never said that Gai wasn't on my side." Kurenai confessed. "Anyway you three can head back, my team is proving harder to find." Kurenai said as she and Gai went off.

Neji was disappointed that they were found so easily. The trip back was filled with silence from Neji. Lee was his happy self and was chatting along with Tenten. The Hyuuga was glad that the kunoichi seemed to regain her usual enthusiasm but he was disappointed with himself. _'I should've known they would have a counter measure against each of us.' _He berated himself for his lackluster performance.

They arrived back to find they weren't the only team there. Team Asuma was already back. "Welcome back." Ino greeted them.

"How were you guys captured?" Neji asked Shikamaru. Despite not knowing the Nara very well, he expected him to be like other Naras. They were intelligent but ultimately lazy and unmotivated. Shikamaru turned to him.

"I figured they had a bet to find out who would capture their teams first. I didn't have enough time to formulate a plan in case they teamed up. We were captured since we didn't anticipate reinforcements." Shikamaru said. Neji nodded as they as well didn't expect reinforcements.

"Who do you believe is going to last the longest?" The Akimichi wondered out loud. The Nara answered.

"If this was individual, it would be Naruto because his stealth ability is one of the best even among ANBU. I just don't know how Team 7 functions as a team. That means Team Kurenai will last the longest. With Kiba's nose, Hinata's eyes, and Shino's bugs, they can easily avoid contact. It should be expected as they're a seeker team." Shikamaru commented. Neji could only nod at the assessment.

The next few minutes was mainly spent on idle talk. Neji observed each of the Genins. _'If I were to fight any of the people here, I'll most likely come out on top. Lee would be a problem with his Taijutsu. While the Nara may be more intelligent, but I should be able to physically overpower him. If I can master the main house technique, I should be able to render Tenten's weapons useless.' _He thought to himself.

He didn't know much about the Yamanaka or the Akimichi besides their clan techniques but he was confident he would be able to win. A few minutes later, the other teams returned. Just as the Nara predicted, Team Kurenai was able to last longer. "Alright that was a very youthful exercise. You're now dismissed." Gai-sensei told his team. Neji gave his team a glance. Tenten was already making her leave while Lee was talking with Gai about some extreme exercise. Neji made his way to Naruto, who was talking with Shikamaru.

"Naruto." Neji greeted the jinchūriki.

"Hi Neji, what's up?" Naruto inquired.

"I was wondering if you knew what was wrong with Tenten today." Neji asked. "She wasn't as energetic as usual, as if something was bothering her." He clarified. Naruto rubbed his chin as if trying to recall something.

"Not really. The last time I saw Tenten was at the meeting yesterday." The blond answered. Neji wondered what could be bothering his teammate but he decided that she could handle her own business.

"Actually I was wondering if you would like to train together. I need someone to help me refine my techniques." Neji proposed. He did want to spar together but he wanted to speak with Naruto in private.

"Yeah of course. I was looking for someone to train with anyway." Naruto agreed. The two waved their goodbyes to Shikamaru as they made their way to Training Ground 9. Naruto was humming a happy tune as they walked. Neji was thinking about the fellow Genin walking with him.

'_Naruto is like a less annoying version of Lee. He's always smiling and bursting with energy. Despite this, you can clearly see how intellectual he is. When sparing, he's constantly observing his opponent. The moment they slip, he strikes. Perhaps that's why he acts the way he does. It gives the opponent a false sense of superiority.' _Neji thought as he remember the time he was defeated by Naruto.

'_It was thanks to Naruto, that I broke out of my self-pity. I felt like the world was set against me so there was no point in fighting it. Now that I can see clearer, I noticed that I'm not the only one having it hard.' _He inwardly frowned as he recalled the times when he berated Hinata. _'As a way of thanking Naruto, I helped him develop his Taijutsu style. Even I'm hard pressed to win due to how similar yet different it is to the Juken. Naruto has really made that style his. That's why I feel guilty of what I'm going to ask.' _Neji broke out of his thoughts as they arrived at the grounds.

"Same as usual?" Naruto asked Neji. Their usual routine consisted of two minutes defending, two minutes attacking, and two minutes of both.

"Yes except I would like it to be four minutes instead of the usual two." Neji proposed. Naruto raised an eyebrow but nevertheless agreed. Neji was the first to attack while Naruto defended. The two trained as they delivered lethal strikes to each other. Neji was able to seal several tenketsu while Naruto was able to paralyze several body parts. The duo rested after they finished their usual routine.

"So what's the real reason you called me here?" Naruto asked in between breaths. Neji gave the blonde a quizzical look. "Come on Neji, this is the first time we ever trained alone. Usually Lee, Tenten, or Gai-sensei is here."

"Isn't is possible that I only wished to train with you alone?" Neji questioned. Naruto simply laughed at the question.

"Yeah that's true. I just think you're the type to never really talk with someone unless you wanted something. I guess I was wrong, sorry about that." Naruto apologized. Neji frowned as he indeed wanted something from Naruto.

"No you're correct. There's something that I want you to do." Neji shifted his posture. He steeled himself for the backlash he was going to receive from what he was going to propose. "During the Chunin Exams, I ask that you do not use **Suifuto Tsubame (Swift Swallow)**." Neji asked as he bowed his head.

"What?" That was the only response he heard. Neji lifted his head to see that Naruto was in a state of confusion.

"As you know, the Chunin Exams will be watched by everyone in the village. Among those people will be Hiashi-sama and the elders of the Hyuuga Clan. The instant you use your Taijutsu, they'll know that it's a variation of the Juken." Neji explained. "They'll immediately suspect Hinata-sama and I. They'll brand her as a traitor and place her in the branch family while they would just end my life."

"They're going to kill you for simply helping me create a style similar to the Juken!" Naruto seethed. "They can't do that, I'll talk to the Hokage about this." The blonde refuted.

"The Hokage is the leader of the village but even he can't step into clan matters." Neji clarified. "I understand that this is extremely unfair to you since you've been working hard to master the style but I beg you. I know I sound like a coward for fearing my death, but I don't want to drag anyone else down with me." Neji bowed his head deeper.

"You don't want Hinata to be branded with the seal." Naruto answered. Neji flinched at the mention. "Hinata told me about it. I'm in the process of making a better seal but it's proving difficult." Naruto confessed.

"I see. So you know about it." Neji sighed as he put his hand up to hitai-ate. The male Hyuuga saw that his friend was frowning. Naruto began tousling his locks.

"You know you put me in a position where I would be a horrible guy if I refuse." Naruto pouted. Neji laughed as his friend.

"I was hoping that you would feel that way." Neji said as a small smile appeared on his face.

"Fine I won't use the Taijutsu style. What kind of friend would I be if I ignored your first request?" Naruto smirked. "By the way, I'm so telling everyone that I got the great Neji to bow down to me." The blonde said mockingly. Neji activated his Doujutsu and glared at Naruto. "Sheesh I'm joking, that stare is really scary." The blonde said as he slightly backed away.

The duo shared a laugh as they relaxed in the grass. Neji spoke up. "Regardless, I'll owe you a favor." Neji said.

"Let me study your seal once in a while." Naruto replied as he pointed to his forehead.

"That's acceptable." Neji agreed. "Although I have to ask. Why do you go so far to make a new seal?" He wondered.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I mean you and I haven't been friends for long. Even if Hinata-sama requested your assistance, why would you go so far for us?" Neji explained. Naruto turned away from him and looked at the sky.

"I guess you can say that I know what it feels like to have a seal dictate your life." The jinchuriki answered. Neji stared at his friend in silence. Ever since he had gotten to know the blonde, he had never seen this side of Naruto.

"Thank you Naruto. For everything you've done." Neji felt grateful that he was able to become friends with Naruto.

"No problem. After all, what are friends for?" Naruto gave a huge grin. "Anyway it looks like I need to talk to Gai-sensei tomorrow. I need a refresher course on the Academy Taijutsu." Naruto chuckled.

"Come on, let me treat you to some ramen." Neji proposed. The blonde shot up as he celebrated. That was the day Neji would regret his decision for ramen as the terror known as Uzumaki Naruto cleaned out his wallet.

***Day 2***

_Ino stared at the bodies of Shikamaru and Chouji. Blood was splattered everywhere, making the scenery look crimson. Ino felt bile coming up from her throat as she couldn't take the foul smell. She held a hand over her mouth to prevent her from throwing up. She stopped as she got a glance of her hands. Her hands were covered in so much blood that she couldn't even see the color of her skin. Ino wanted to run away, anywhere as long as it wasn't here. _

_Suddenly a hand had grasped on to her leg. Ino froze as Shikamaru's hand had grabbed on to her leg. "You could've saved us." A coarse voice spoke to her. She turned to see that Chouji had grabbed her other leg. _

"_If you weren't so weak, then we wouldn't need to protect you." Shikamaru said as he held onto her tighter. Ino couldn't do anything as she was too scared to._

"_Why didn't you train harder?" Chouji questioned._

"_You let us die protecting you. You killed us!" Shikamaru shouted._

_Ino desperately shook her head. "NO! NO! NO!" She desperately denied. "I didn't want you to die." Tears escaped her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Ino blacked out._

Ino woke up with a start. Sweat coursed her skin as she desperately tried to calm her breathing. Ino tried to shake the nightmare from her head but it persisted in her mind. The blonde sobbed into her pillow as she let her feelings run its course. A knock came from her door. "Ino, princess, are you okay?" Her dad's worried voice asked. Ino desperately wiped her eyes to dry her tears.

"Yeah I'm fine daddy, just had a nightmare." She confessed. There was no sound for a few seconds.

"Would you like to talk about?" He asked.

"Don't worry daddy. I'm okay." Ino said as she made her voice sound cheerful.

"Okay princess, I'm going to head to work. You should go get ready for your team training." Her father told her. She waited until she heard him going down the stairs before plopped herself back on the pillow. Ino let out a weak sigh as she stared at her blank ceiling. After a few minutes, she got out of her bed and made her way to the bathroom. She stopped as she took a look at herself in the mirror.

She honestly looked as if she was hit by a wind jutsu. Her hair was all over the place as she hadn't had the chance to comb it. Her eyes were puffy from the crying while her pajamas were drenched with sweat. Ino frowned as she looked at the person in front of her. She would never step out of her room like that. The Yamanaka female was supposed to be a confident person that could take on the world. The blonde shook her head as a way to get rid of the negativism.

After a brief shower, Ino changed into her clothes and looped her hair into its usual hairstyle. Ino slapped her face a couple of time to compose herself. She let out a breath and straighten her posture. "Alright Yamanaka Ino. You can do this." She said to herself as she left her room. As she made her way downstairs, the girl caught a whiff of eggs. Ino peeked into the kitchen to see her mother cooking.

"Morning dear." Her mother greeted as she handed a plate of eggs and bacon to Ino. Ino gave her thanks before eating her breakfast. "So what's on your schedule today?" Noriko inquired.

"Yesterday, I went to Kurenai-san for a Genjutsu training. Today I'll probably go to Gai-san for Taijutsu training and give him some fashion advice." The daughter replied. The two lightly gagged as they remembered the green spandex suit. The rest of the breakfast was filled with small chatter. Ino waved goodbye to her mother as she left the flower shop. On her way there, she spotted her two childhood friends.

She halted as the image of their dead bodies surfaced. Ino quickly shook the thought out of her mind as she made her way towards them. "Good morning you two." Ino perkily greeted. Shika groaned while Chouji mumbled a greeting between bites of his sandwich. "What do you think we're going to do today?" Ino asked.

"The opposite of yesterday." The lazy boy answered. "Since we trained our stealth skills yesterday, we're most likely training our seeking skills." He clarified. Ino nodded as the trio walked the rest of the way in silence. They seemed to be the last to arrive as everyone else was already there.

"It's about time you three arrived." Their sensei said as he smirked. Ino swore that she was going to wipe that smirk off his face later.

"Okay now that everyone is here, let's start." Kakashi spoke to everyone. "Today we're training your seeking skills. You're to find the sensei that you're assigned and tag them in one hour. We'll have a five minute head start before you can start searching. We'll also be hiding throughout town so good luck." Kakashi said before all four senseis used **Shunshin**. In the sensei's place was a scroll for each team. Ino grabbed the scroll labeled Team 10 and opened it.

Shikamaru and Chouji looked to see which sensei they got. "Who did you guys get Ino-pig?" An all too familiar voice asked.

"We got it easy since we got Gai-san. We're probably going to finish before you billboard-brow." Ino answered smugly. Sakura stepped closer to her.

"Oh yeah? I bet we find our target before you." Sakura challenged. Ino wasn't one to back down especially in front of her rival. Unfortunately Chouji pulled her away.

"Come on Ino, Shika says we need to plan out how we're going to find Gai-san." Chouji told her. Ino huffed angrily but she went to plan with her teammates.

"So what's the plan?" Ino asked as she glared at Shikamaru who was laid out on the grass. The Nara sat up and turned to her.

"If he doesn't disguise himself, he should be easy to find. We just need to listen in on conversations around town about a loud strange man. With his attire, he should be easy to spot from a distance. The problem will be actually tagging him. We'll have to trap him because none of us are fast enough to touch him. Ino use **Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Transfer Technique) **on a bird to give us an overhead visual." Shikamaru explained. Ino nodded and was now in the process of looking for a bird.

"Once you find Gai-san, Chouji will chase him to the market. I'll blend in and bind him with my shadow. In that instant, one of you will need to tag him as I can't hold him for too long" Shikamaru told his two teammates.

"Alright let's go!" Ino shouted as she latched onto her target. The bird was perched on a tree branch. Ino made an oval using her thumbs and index fingers. **"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Transfer Technique)." **Ino's body went limp as her mind went into the bird. _'Yuck, this bird just ate a worm.' _Ino felt the urge to gag but ignored it. Ino flapped her wings and soared into the air.

'_The view from up here is amazing.' _She thought as the sun shined brightly in the sky._ 'Wait focus Ino.' _The blond reminded herself that she was looking for a green figure. After a few minutes, she landed on top of a roof in the residential district. She eavesdropped on two men's conversation.

"I swear it's like Gai never stops training. I just saw him lifting a boulder on top of the Hokage Monument." A masculine voice told his companion. Ino got all the information she need so she canceled the technique. The blonde slowly opened her eyes as she regained control of her body. She was laid out on the grass.

"Any *munch* luck Ino?" Chouji asked as he ate his chips. Ino nodded as she told them the information she acquired. Ino and Shikamaru made their way to the market while the Akimichi went to the Hokage Monument. Once at the market, Shikamaru blended in with the crowd while Ino was observing from the roof.

Just like planned, Chouji had managed to direct Gai towards the market. Ino watched the spandex Jonin as he slowly walked amongst the crowd. Just as Gai passed by Shikamaru, the kunoichi leapt off the roof. Gai tried to run but he was rendered motionless. The Yamanaka took that opportunity to pounce on their target. With a simple touch, Team 10 completed their objective.

"Great job Team 10! I believe you're the first to complete this task so congratulations on this youthful accomplishment." Gai bellowed in laughter. "Now let us make our way back." Gai said before he left them in his dust. Team 10 preferred to walk back as they were tired from their efforts to catch the Jonin.

"Good job Ino, Chouji." Shikamaru praised his two friends.

"You two Shikamaru." Chouji complimented.

"We're the best." Ino smiled, pulling them into a hug. The kunoichi was glad that she was able to contribute to the effort. As they arrived back to the training grounds, Team 8, Kakashi, and Gai were already there.

"I can't believe you guys beat us. We specialize in seeking." Kiba groaned.

"We're just that good. Better luck next time." The blonde replied, sticking her tongue out playfully. The other teams came back half an hour later. Team 7 was last as they had trouble finding Kurenai. The group once again disbanded for the day. Ino made her way towards Gai, who she found talking to Naruto.

"Your youthful passion burns so bright Naruto-kun. To forsake all that training, just for a friend." Gai said as streams poured from his eyes.

"Gai-san, I was wondering if you can train me today." Ino chimed in the conversation.

"Of course young Ino. I hope you don't mind that Naruto-kun will be joining us." Gai answered. Ino saw that Naruto was waving at her so she waved back.

"Sure I don't mind." She answered. The trio waited until the grounds were clear before they started.

"Alright the first thing we're going to do is stretch. Stretching every morning allows body to prepare itself for the tasks ahead." Gai explained as he went through a set of stretches with the Genin. "Now we'll be doing 5 sets of 100 push-ups." The Jonin ordered. Ino watched as Gai and Naruto instantly hit the ground and started. Ino inwardly groaned as she started. By the time she was on her second set, the other two had already finished.

"Work on finishing Ino. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to reach the goal as long as you get there." Gai gave out inspiration. Ino weakly nodded as she continued her push-ups. She could hear Gai giving Naruto pointers on his Taijutsu. Ino wondered when exactly Naruto had passed her by when it came to shinobi skills.

'_Back at the Academy, I was one of the top kunoichi while he was the dead-last. Then out of nowhere, Naruto starts studying and he quickly makes his way up the ranks. A year later his grades plummet back down to second to last. I never paid much attention to it since Sasuke was much cooler. Now it seems like I'm the dead last and everyone else is so far ahead of me." _Ino frowned as she remember her sensei's critique of her skills.

Ino finished her last set 20 minutes later. By the end of it, her arms felt like jelly. "Yosh our next exercise is 10 laps around the grounds." Gai immediately took off. Ino slowly picked herself off the ground and started the task. She didn't notice that Naruto was running beside her.

"Looks like you're working hard Ino." Naruto commented. Ino shrieked and jumped away from him.

"Why are you back here Naruto?" She questioned. The kunoichi thought he would be ahead of her.

"I thought you would like some company." Naruto offered. "After all, the laps feel shorter when you're talking." She gave him a sideways glance.

"Sure, might as well." Ino accepted with a shrug.

"So how are your parents?" The male blond asked, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"Dad has been a little busy at work while Mom is cleaning up inventory for the shop. How are yours?" Ino asked without thinking. She caught herself a moment later. "I'm s-"

Naruto cut her off. "It's fine. I know you didn't mean to." Naruto assured her.

"Hey Naruto can I ask you a personal question?" Ino inquired.

"Go right ahead." The fellow blonde replied.

"How long have you been living alone?" She asked, hoping she didn't step on any boundaries. Naruto thought for a moment before answering.

"I've lived by myself since I was five. I've been living with Shin and Sai for two years now." Naruto answered truthfully. Ino looked at him in shocked. She couldn't imagine living by herself. Ino realized how much she took for granted, like a father who worried about her and a mother who cooked her breakfast.

"How are you so strong?" Ino whispered but Naruto was able to hear it.

"I wasn't always strong. I used to be really lonely until I found people that cared for me. Eventually I wanted to be strong so I can protect the people that I care about. I'm not actually strong, I just refuse to give up." Naruto smiled as he approached Gai. Ino looked bewildered as they had finished running without her knowing.

"Nice job you two. Now I'll shore up your Taijutsu skills." Gai said as he motioned for Naruto. While Naruto was being taught by Gai, Ino was going over the conversation she just had. Despite Naruto's insistence that he wasn't strong, it took a lot of strength to always face forward.

"Wow! I can't believe Yamanaka-san is training." A male voice interrupted her thought. Ino knew the voice and she loathe the person.

"What are you doing here?" Ino asked as she turned to glare at Sai, who was heading towards her.

"I came to get Naruto so we can have a family dinner before I leave on a mission." Sai explained. Ino turned away from him. She hated Sai since the time he called her 'blonde howler monkey'. He could had called her something original instead of a variation of Sakura's. It didn't helped that he constantly smirked whenever she yelled at him.

"I'm honestly surprised that you're out here training." Sai's voice broke her from her thoughts again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked angrily. Sai raised his hands in a surrender motion.

"Calm down. I'm simply saying that back at the Academy, you never trained. I honestly thought you attended the Academy so you could pretend you were a kunoichi." He confessed. Ino was ready to pummel him to the ground. "But looks like I was wrong. You're working your butt off, trying to be a good kunoichi. I have a better opinion of you now." Sai admitted as he smiled.

Ino had to turn away as she was sporting a light blush. She was caught off guard by his smiling face. "Hmph like I need your opinion." She replied quickly. Sai didn't hear her as he was conversing to Naruto. The jinchuriki waved goodbye to Gai and Ino.

"Work hard Ino and believe in yourself. You're a better kunoichi than you give yourself credit." Naruto shouted before he used **Shunshin**.

"Good luck and maybe next time, my opinion of you gets even higher." Sai commented before also leaving the same way as Naruto.

Strangely Ino started to feel better about herself. _'I guess when you have people that believe in you, you start believing in yourself.'_ The girl thought before she went towards the direction of the loud voice. _'I seriously need to give him some fashion advice.'_ Ino mused before she started training.

**Reviews:**

**LordGhostStriker - **Your review literally made my day!

**Apedreitor **\- I like the idea. Naruto will have some lightning jutsus soon.

**emilbootanimefreak **\- Mei is going to freak LOL. Especially after she finds out who taught Naruto the **Kirigakure no Jutsu**. Tenten will come back strong but yeah, you got to love drama.

**Silverw0lf-sama **\- Thank you.

**gwb620 - **All girls need love. ;) Lol

**outcastmike **\- This chapter probably didn't turn out like you expected.

**NinjaFang1331 **\- Yeah I decided to focus more on the Konoha 12.

**chibi monsta - **The other girls will be appearing in a few chapters and guess who meets them first?

**buterflypus - **Thank you.

**Keyser.S -** Hey thanks from reading in Brazil. Chaos will mostly ensue when all the girls and Naruto meet.

**Waldo Santiago **\- Yeah I hate reading where they instantly get into a relationship.

**Ryuujin96 - **Shunshin is going to be a mainstay. Kakashi was just going through a rough patch in his life. Hinata will definitely not be a victim of an arranged marriage. Tsunade loves helping Naruto even if it's to get eye candy.

**skg1991 -** Soon. In a couple of chapters really. Is he going to be a jerk? Nope but he's going to be a teenager.

**gual1 - **Glad you like the length because I'm not sure if I can write anything that long again.

**minitune - **Fu is the next member to appear!

**loganhunter2 -** I completely understand now. Got to work hard for that 10. I never saw Haku as a boy.

**Annoy Mouse – **That's what makes this story unique. I didn't want to use shadow clones in the beginning because authors abuse it.

**DarkPirateKing69 - **The Kawarimi no Jutsu has potential to be overpowered.

**narumuti - **Thanks for the support.

**Gold Testament - **Shisui does sort of look like Obito. Love the ideas and will most likely use them.

**imgonnadie - **Thank you.

**Navn Ukjent - **Shadows clones will come later on in the sequel.

**ladygoddess8 - **I'm leaning on something else entirely but the CRA will play a part. I could totally write Tsunade as matchmaker!

**MetallicMilitia - **Hey thanks for the compliment. Yeah I have a plan for Sasuke.

**BeautifulLotus - **Your review is sweet and simple.

**Googlemo - **Thanks for giving it a try.

**kight117 - **Thanks you.

**herant - **You get the Ino chapter! You actually inspired the idea behind this chapter so thank you.


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/25/16.

**A.N.**

Sorry for the long wait… That's all I really have to say. Enjoy!

**Chapter 10: Bonding**

***Day 3***

Kiba groaned as his lightbulb stopped flickering. Today the Jonin-senseis decided to focus on Ninjutsu, specifically elemental Ninjutsu. Each Genin was given a chakra paper so they could determine their nature. Kiba's paper wrinkled, revealing that he had a lightning affinity. His teammates had different affinities from him. Shino had fire while Hinata possessed water. After finding out their affinities, the Jonin-senseis split them up in groups so they can train on their element.

"Why are we even doing this?" Kiba complained. "I want to learn some Raiton jutsus, not sit here and light this bulb." He yelled to Kakashi, who was in charge of the Raiton group. Kakashi was training his group by making them channel lightning chakra through lightbulbs.

"Maa Maa. Elemental training is very important to a shinobi. Mastering your element makes your jutsus stronger while also making them easier to control. Just ask Naruto here." Kakashi encouraged before he pointed to the blonde. Kiba saw that Naruto was focusing all of his attention on his own lightbulb.

"Actually why are you here Naruto?" The Inuzuka asked since he knew Naruto's affinity was wind and water. Of all the Genins, only he and Sasuke had lightning affinity.

"I'm training my lightning affinity like you and Sasuke." Naruto answered. The blonde channeled Raiton chakra making the bulb momentarily flicker to life. It only lasted for an instant as the light faded.

"You don't have a lightning affinity." Kiba reminded.

"I know but that doesn't mean I can't train it. To become a Jonin, a shinobi has to master two elements. I'm trying to become Hokage so I'm trying to master all five." Naruto explained as he looked at the Inuzuka. Kiba stared wide eyed at the blonde.

"So how long have you been doing this elemental training?" Kiba questioned.

"Since we graduated from the Academy. I'm in the process of reaching level one for all the natures. I only have fire, lightning, and earth to go." Naruto answered, much to the shock of Kiba.

"How do you already know how to train your affinity?" Sasuke asked, jumping into the conversation.

"I went to the library and learned about elemental natures. Then Hokage-Jiji told me the method of training all the elements." Naruto replied.

"Could you tell me the methods?" Sasuke asked. "I need to get stronger for my ambition."

Kiba wondered what the Uchiha meant as Naruto and Kakashi frowned. He never talked to Sasuke before because the Uchiha was always brooding. In fact, this was the most Kiba had ever heard Sasuke speak. While Kiba was thinking to himself, Naruto was telling Sasuke about the methods. "Alright less talking and more training." Kakashi ordered.

Kiba glared at the sensei who was reading an orange book. The kids quietly did as told and resumed training. By noon, Kiba had improved to where his lightbulb would flicker on for several seconds.

"How is this going to help me with the exams?" Kiba asked as he relaxed on the grass.

"Maybe you can add lightning chakra to your clan techniques." Naruto suggested.

"Can you even do that?" The Inuzuka asked skeptically.

"It's possible." Kakashi chimed in. "The Yondaime Raikage is known to having a technique where he surrounds himself with a cloak of lightning chakra. The cloak acts as a defense while also increasing the Raikage's speed. It could be possible to add lightning chakra to your clan techniques." The silver haired male elaborated. Kiba stared at the mask Jonin in disbelief.

'_If I could add lightning chakra to _**_Gatsuga_**_ then it'll be even stronger.' _Kiba couldn't believe he never thought of it before. "I'm heading home, see ya later." Kiba said as he went to pick up Akamaru, who was napping in the shade. The ninken's ears picked up the sound of footsteps and looked up to see his partner.

"Let's race home buddy." Kiba said as he couldn't wait to start training. The boy took off, gaining a sizeable lead before he was halted by a crowd of people. Kiba tried to make his way through the mass of people but he was having difficulty doing so. Akamaru used his small stature to navigate through the crowd with relative ease. Akamaru barely edged Kiba going through the gates of the compound.

Akamaru howled his victory as he did laps around his master. "That was luck." The Inuzuka scoffed as he made his way inside. Kiba made himself a ham and cheese sandwich while grabbing some bacon for Akamaru. After eating, the duo headed towards the backyard where the clan training grounds was located. The yard was littered with holes that seemed to be dug by drills.

"Alright Akamaru, time to practice." Kiba said as he spread his arms apart. Mimicking the motion of a drill, Kiba rose into the air before slamming his body into the ground. As soon as he made a denture on the ground, he kicked off the ground to rise back into the air. Soon Akamaru joined into the training and the duo began making holes all over the yard. Kiba stopped momentarily to regain his breath. **Gatsuga **required a lot for chakra to maintain for long period. Now he had to find a way to apply lightning chakra to **Gatsuga**. As he was regaining his breath, his nose caught the scent of a fox and a dog at the gate.

"Hello, is there anyone here?" A voice yelled out. Kiba went to the gate with Akamaru following behind. Standing at the gate was a tall brown haired man with a dog in his arms. The dog seemed pale and looked as if it was suffering from something. "Oh can you help me?" The man asked when he saw Kiba. "This dog here seems to be in pain and I heard that there was a veterinarian here."

Kiba didn't reply as he tried to wrap around his head around why this man smelled like foxes. There was only one person he knew that smelled like foxes. Kiba watched as Akamaru went up to the man with his tail wagging. "Naruto drop the **Henge**." Kiba ordered as the man dropped the Henge.

"Haha you caught me. Anyway can you help me?" The blonde asked.

"Come on, I think my sister is home." Kiba ushered the blonde in. "Anyway why did you** Henge** into a man?" He asked. Naruto didn't immediately answer the question.

"I was training my **Henge**." Naruto answered after a few moments of silence.

"Why are you training **Henge**?" Kiba asked. "That's not going to help you in the exams."

"Sure it will. I'll be able to catch my opponents off guard." The blonde explained.

"Yeah as if that would ever work." The Inuzuka snorted. The two arrived at the vet where Hana was currently reading a magazine. "Oi sis, I got a patient for ya." Kiba yelled out. The brunette female looked up from her magazine to see Kiba and Naruto.

"What wrong?" Hana asked professionally as she examined the dog in the blonde's arm.

"I found him in an alleyway near my house. I know there's a vet here so I rushed over." Naruto explained as she took the dog. Kiba watched as his sister began using medical jutsu on the canine. Kiba would never openly admit it but he admired his sister's decision to become a veterinarian. A veterinarian was a crucial position in the clan as they were responsible for the health of the ninken.

"How is he Inuzuka-san?" Naruto wondered as he observed Hana.

"Hana is fine Naruto. I pretty much know you from Anko." Hana explained. Both boys tensed at the name. Kiba remembered the times Anko came and visit Hana. The first time he meet her, he lightly tapped her ass. She proceeded to tie him from a tree branch in the Forest of Death. He also unwittingly commented that she smelled like a snake. He would forever remember the sadistic grin Anko gave when she summoned a giant snake. Kiba dangled there for several hours, trying to avoid being swallowed by the snake before Anko eventually untied him. Ever since then, Kiba was respectful to Anko. Speaking of people that smelled like animals.

"Hey Naruto why do you smell like foxes?" Kiba asked. He didn't notice that Naruto and Hana froze when he asked the question. "Ever since I first met you, a smell of foxes was always on you." He clarified. Nobody spoke for several seconds as the male Inuzuka wondered if he asked another question that shouldn't had been asked.

"I have a pet fox at home. His fur must've been on my clothes." Naruto lied. Kiba didn't catch it as he was thinking about something else.

"I bet Akamaru could beat your stupid fox. Ain't that right boy?" Kiba boasted to which Akamaru barked. The two missed the sighs of relief from Naruto and Hana.

"This dog is suffering from a stomach ache, most likely from eating something rotten. I healed most of it so he just needs some rest." Hana said as she finished her analysis while also changing the subject.

"Thank you Hana." Naruto thanked the veterinarian.

"I should be the one thanking you Naruto. While this dog would've been fine after a couple of hours, you saved it from suffering and agony." Hana smiled.

"Alright Naruto you know the way out, I got to get back to training." Kiba said with a wave.

"Yeah, we need all the training we could get before the exams." Naruto replied. Kiba stopped mid stride as he turned around. What Kiba heard was 'you need all the training you could get'.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba growled. "I could beat you without breaking a sweat." He shouted. Hana face palmed at the idiocy of her brother. Naruto and Akamaru was confused with Kiba's attitude.

"Hey boy, I think Kiba needs to have his hearing checked." Naruto told the ninken, which barked his agreement. Hana laughed at the two's antics. "Anyway I need to go train also. See you guys around, Hana-san and Akamaru. If you need a sparring partner, feel free to hit me up Kiba." Naruto said as he left the compound.

"Funny friend you have there, Kiba." Hana said.

"He's not my friend. We're more like rivals than friends." Kiba denied as he stormed away. Akamaru ran after his partner.

"Rivals could also be friends." Hana shrugged as she went to check up on the dog.

***Day 4***

The patrons of Akimichi Beef were befuddled by the sight in front of them. Sitting in a booth was Akimichi Chouji and Uzumaki Naruto, two of the heaviest eaters in the village. Whenever the two were together, chefs were forced to be at the top of their games to feed their ginormous appetites. Many restaurants were forced to shut down for several days after the two Genins cleaned out their stocks. As soon as Naruto and Chouji walked into Akimichi Beef, the chefs began working at a feverish pace. Suppliers went and grabbed extra supplies from the Akimichi Compound to prepare for the upcoming feast. Only this time, Naruto and Chouji seemed to be eating like civilized people.

"Hey Chouji why is everyone staring at us?" Naruto asked as he slowly chewed on the meat, savoring the flavor. The Akimichi boy looked up from the grill to see that his friend was right.

"I don't know." The chubby boy replied. "They're not even moving. Do you think Shika is pulling a prank on us?" Chouji asked, only to receive a deadpanned look from Naruto. "Right, that would be too much effort for him."

Shikamaru sneezed while he was playing shogi with his dad. "Someone is talking about me. It's most likely Ino or Naruto, troublesome." He commented before going back to the game.

Naruto and Chouji ignored the stares and continued to eat calmly. A waitress managed to free herself from her shock and bravely approached the duo. "Excuse me but is something wrong with the food?" She asked curiously.

"No the food is as great as usual." Chouji said, confused at her question. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes- No- I mean I don't know! Please excuse me!" The young waitress ran away from the scene.

"What was that about?" Naruto wondered.

"I don't know but let's dig in." Chouji said as the duo resumed eating. "You *munch* are right. Food tastes *munch* good no matter how fast *munch* you eat it." He said in between bites.

"I know right!?" Naruto replied exuberantly. "I couldn't believe it either when Shin and Sai told me that food tastes good even if I eat it slow. I mean you have to eat to survive so I still think it's better to eat fast."

"Especially at the dinner table." Chouji agreed. "If you blink, all the food would be gone before you know it." The Akimichi said as he reached for a piece of meat. The blonde nodded, agreeing whole heartily at the statement.

"So how has training been?" Naruto asked as he picked up a scrumptious piece of meat.

"Not bad. I've been training with dad on some clan techniques. I've got to get stronger so I can protect Shikamaru and Ino." The Akimichi said with fire in his eyes. "How about your training? I heard you were practicing Taijutsu with Ino." Chouji asked.

"Yeah I was training with her the other day. She seemed serious about getting stronger. My training has been all over the place. I'm just training with the other Genins so we could spot each other's weaknesses." Naruto spoke.

"So that means you're going to spar with me too?" Chouji wondered as he grabbed a baby carrot. As much as Chouji hated vegetables, he didn't wanted to be scolded by his mother later on. He didn't know how she always knew when he didn't eat vegetables. The boy figured it was a motherly instinct.

"Yeah but only if you're free." Naruto said as he didn't want to be forceful.

"Sure after we eat, we could head to the compound to spar." The plump boy said as he reached for the last piece of meat. His chopsticks touched the meat at the same time as Naruto's. The two stared at each other while trying to gain possession of the last piece.

"Chouji, you're such a great friend. Thanks for letting me have the last piece of meat." Naruto said as he used his strength to pull the piece to his side.

"No, you're the awesome one for being so unselfish. Thanks for letting me have it." Chouji replied as the meat inched towards his side.

"I'm the skinner one, Chouji. I need more food than you do." Naruto reasoned.

"Are you calling me FAT!?" Chouji replied angrily. Naruto instinctively raised his hands defensively to avoid angering his friend. That was the opening Chouji needed as he raised the scrumptious piece of meat to his mouth. Just before the Akimichi could place the meat into his mouth, he met resistance.

Naruto had recovered fast enough to avoid his meat from being stolen. "You almost got me there Chouji." The jinchuriki said as he used his strength to pull the meat away from the gaping mouth. Chouji leaned forward to close the distance. Naruto quickly counterattacked by throwing a baby carrot into Chouji's mouth. The bigger boy stopped momentarily to chew the vegetable and Naruto sprang into action.

The Akimichi noticed so he slammed his knee upwards on the table. The wobbling table caused Naruto to lose his balance and made him flick the meat upwards. The piece of meat went airborne and Chouji pounced. Naruto realized that his prize was going to be taken from him. Naruto launched a chopstick with a flick of his wrist as if it was a kunai. The wooden chopstick soared through the air and pierced the juicy meat to the ceiling. Naruto leapt into the air, only to be pulled down by Chouji.

"The meat is mine Naruto!" Chouji shouted with gusto. The boys separated from each other as the onlookers wondered what was going on. The two friends stared at each other with the meat airborne in the middle. Unknown to the duo, the meat was sliding off the chopsticks. As Chouji dashed forward to apprehend Naruto, the blond noticed the falling meat. Naruto slid into between Chouji's legs and caught the falling meat with his teeth.

Naruto savored the hard fought meat as the juices exploded in his mouth. Naruto was simply in heaven as victory never tasted this delicious. Meanwhile, Chouji lamented his defeat as he began sulking. "There is always next time." Naruto tried to cheer his friend up after snapping out of his bliss. Chouji didn't respond as he looked at the grill longingly. "Alright can we get more meat over here?" Naruto shouted.

The restaurant happily responded as they had plenty of supplies after all. Those supplies didn't last long as the two Genins briskly cleaned out the store. The two boys walked out the store with a full stomach, once again defeating the chefs.

***Day 5***

Hinata stared at the opponent in front of her. Her opponent carried an air of arrogance as if Hinata couldn't possibly defeat them. The Hyuuga heiress sprang forward and her opponent did the same. Juken strikes canceled each other as the two exchanged blows. Hinata was able to see her opponent's movements. Although the strikes were deadly, Hinata was able to skillfully get out of her opponent's range. Hinata saw a clear opening and raised her palm to deal a lethal strike. As her palm got closer, she hesitated slightly. This hesitation allowed her opponent to capitalize and land a hit on her stomach.

Hinata crouched in pain as she placed a hand over her stomach. With the **Byakugan **active, she was able to see a hand hovering over her neck. "Winner, Hanabi." Her father announced stoically. She could see the disappointment in his eyes as Neji came over to provide treatment. The girl wondered if she would ever be able to satisfy her father. Ever since her uncle died, her father had changed to an indifferent person. No matter what Hinata did, he would frown in disappointment.

"Hinata-sama, other than your tenketsu being sealed, you're fine." Neji informed. Hinata thanked him as she grimly stood from her crouched position. She was thankful that Neji had changed from his cold persona. She heard that Naruto had changed her cousin but she never knew what happened.

Hinata wished she was as strong as Naruto was. For some reason, he was the target of many people's hatred. She always wondered why that was since the worst thing Naruto did was pull pranks on the villagers. Hinata admired the blond greatly as he faced his obstacles without backing down. As Hinata was finishing her thoughts, Hiashi finished praising Hanabi for her efforts.

How Hinata longed for her father to praise her for her achievements. "Otou-san, I would like to excuse myself so that I may shop for groceries." Hinata bowed as she ignored the pain.

"Very well you're both dismissed." Hiashi acknowledged as he left the room. Hinata exited the room and made her way outside. Hinata always loathe the scene she saw when she exited the main house. The more populous branch family were regulated to live in the shadow of the main family. The girl wished she had the ability to change the Hyuuga's way.

"Onee-san may I join you?" Hanabi asked as she made her way towards her older sister. Hinata nodded as the two departed. The Hyuuga heiresses walked with grace as they were expected to keep appearances out in public. The two would nod at the villagers on the way to the market. Usually the branch family would take care of the grocery shopping, but Hinata preferred to do it. Not only did it take some of the burden off the branch family but it also allowed her some freedom from the clan.

Hanabi liked to join in the shopping trips as Hinata would spoil her with things such as sweets. Outside of Hinata and Neji, Hanabi never behaved as a child. She never played in the playground like Hinata did when she was small. In fact, Hanabi didn't have a single friend outside the compound. "Hanabi." Hinata called to get her younger sister's attention. "How would you like it if we stopped by the playground on the way back home?" She asked. Hanabi nodded in agreement. To the common eye, Hanabi was the exact same as before. The older sister knew better as she could see the excitement in her sister's eyes.

The two Hyuugas finished their shopping quickly so they had plenty of time to play at the playground. When they arrived at the playground, they spotted people already there. Hinata instantly recognized one as it seemed to be Naruto playing with some kids. "Naruto what are you doing here?" She asked, making her way to him.

Naruto and the kids looked to see the two Hyuuga heiresses. "Hey Hinata." The boy greeted before seeing the smaller Hyuuga. "Hello again little firecracker." He teased.

"I told you not to call me that!" Hanabi shouted as she pointed to Naruto. He replied with a chuckle. Hinata was puzzled at the scene as she didn't know that Naruto knew Hanabi.

"Ano Naruto how do you know Hanabi?" Hinata asked.

"We met once when Konohamaru accidently ran into little firecracker." He answered as Hanabi ran towards him. Naruto simply placed a hand on her head, halting her advance.

"Just wait until I get close to you." Hanabi yelled as she swung her arms widely. Hinata was amused as she had never seen her sister act like this in public.

"Boss!" A young voice shouted. Konohamaru and company ran up to Naruto. "It's you again." The young Sarutobi said in disgust as he saw Hanabi. Hanabi stopped her attacks as she glared at the boy with the scarf.

"Hmph I don't have time to waste on the likes of you." Hanabi declared as she looked away from Konohamaru. Udon and Moegi held back Konohamaru before he could attack.

"Oi stop fighting you two!" Naruto scolded. Hanabi pouted that she was getting reprimanded. The Sarutobi frowned that he was scolded as well.

"How about we all play a game?" Hinata said quickly as she tried to calm the situation.

"Are you a friend of boss?" Moegi asked. Hinata lightly chuckled at Naruto's nickname.

"Hai, my name is Hinata and over there is Hanabi." She introduced herself and her sister. Konohamaru turned to Hinata.

"Sorry but boss already has a girlfriend." Konohamaru said so Hinata wouldn't get her hopes up.

"What!?" was the simultaneous response of Naruto and Hinata. Hinata couldn't believe that Naruto had a girlfriend.

_'Could it be Tenten?' _She wondered if it was the weapon mistress.

"I don't have a girlfriend." Naruto denied hastily.

"But I thought Haku-neechan was your girlfriend." Udon said in disbelief. While Naruto was explaining once again that Haku wasn't his girlfriend, Hinata tried to remember who this Haku was. The name was unfamiliar to her so it must be someone new to Konoha.

"Onee-sama, are you friends with that blonde guy?" Hanabi asked.

"Yes that's Naruto-kun and he's mine and Neji-niisan's friend." Hinata replied.

"Alright let's play a game called Keep Away." Naruto said as he produced a ball. Hinata knew he was trying to change the subject. Everyone was puzzled as they never heard of the game before. "The objective of this game is to keep the ball away from the people in the middle. Hinata and I will be on the outside while you guys are in the middle." He explained.

"That's not fair. You guys are taller than us." Konohamaru complained.

"Well you guys need to work together to win then. If you win, I'll take you guys out for ice cream." Naruto said as he held out the bait. The kids instantly took it as they agreed to play. Hinata stood on one side of the playground while Naruto was on the other. The four kids lined up in the middle. "Let's begin!" Naruto shouted as he slowly arched the ball to Hinata.

The kids ran towards Hinata but accidently ran into each other. Hanabi had accidently stepped on Konohamaru's scarf, causing him to fall forwards. He fell onto Moegi, who pulled Udon down as well. Hanabi collided with the falling Udon. The ball landed softly and safely in Hinata's hands. "Watch where you're going!" Konohamaru shouted.

"It was your fault that we fell." Hanabi protested.

"You guys need to be more careful." Moegi said as she rubbed the bump on her head.

"Maybe we should-"Udon tried to talk but he was being drowned out. Hinata couldn't believe that they were arguing again.

"Kids don't you guys want to be shinobi?" Naruto said loudly to catch their attention. He was satisfied when they all turned to him. "A shinobi sometimes have to work with people they don't like. Are you going to tell the Hokage that you can't work with someone because they're annoying?" He asked as the kids shook their heads no. "Good. Now you better start working together because if you don't get this ball..." He paused for dramatic effect. "I'll be forced to…" He let it hang to scare them. Naruto smirked as he got the desired effect when the kids turned pale.

The kids began whispering amongst themselves, trying to formulate a plan. Hinata couldn't believe her eyes. Hanabi was actually talking to kids their own age. Hinata was glad Naruto chose a game where they would be forced to cooperate.

"Throw the ball with all your strength from now on." A voice said from behind her. It startled Hinata as she looked who was behind her.

"Naruto." She said in relief. "Why should I throw it that hard?" Hinata asked curiously.

"You got to be serious. After all, this game is like a battle simulation where your team has to prevent the enemy from delivering vital information to his ally. This is to help them prepare life as a shinobi." Naruto replied. Hinata couldn't believe that the game functioned that way. "You might have to do stuff that causes them pain now but it'll help them in future." Naruto replied. Those words seemed to be directed to her.

"You know about mine and Hanabi's spars." She stated.

"Neji told me about it the other day. He says that you regularly hold back against Hanabi. That's not good Hinata. The enemy isn't going to hold back. You're actually harming her as you're letting her get arrogant." The blonde explained.

"I just don't have the heart to hurt her." Hinata said softly.

"It's not my place to tell you what to do. I'm only offering advice to you as a friend." He said with a grin. "You ready yet brats?" Naruto shouted as he sprinted to his side before Hinata could speak.

"Thank you Naruto." Hinata thanked him. The kids had a calculated look on their face as they prepared for the game. Naruto nodded to Hinata. She corked her arm back and beamed the ball straight at Naruto. The kids were caught off guard by the passing missile but quickly regained their bearings. All four raced towards Naruto who just caught the ball. Konohamaru jumped at Naruto, who skillfully dodged out of the way.

"Better luck next time." Naruto shouted as he threw the ball back. The other three halted and turned about face. They ran towards Hinata but as soon as Hinata was about to catch it, they ran back towards Naruto. This confused Naruto greatly until he felt someone clamp onto his left leg. Konohamaru had attached himself onto Naruto. Hinata tried to pull her arm back but the ball was already out of her hands. Moegi latched onto Naruto's left arm while Udon grabbed the blonde's right arm.

"**Byakugan**." Hanabi shouted as she activated her doujutsu. Naruto and Hinata then realized that their plan was to immobilize Naruto so he couldn't catch the ball. The jinchūriki tried to move but the extra weight was bogging him down. Naruto couldn't weave his body fast enough and was struck in his free leg several times. The attack crippled his movement, making him unable to catch the approaching ball.

"We got him!" Konohamaru shouted excitedly as he let go of Naruto's leg. Moegi and Udon also got off of him as they prepared to catch the ball. The ball was coming straight towards Udon so the boy raised his hands up to catch it. As the ball came closer, it vanished.

"What happened?" Udon asked confusedly. The ball had disappeared in thin air.

"So close." The kids heard. They turned to see Naruto holding the ball while standing on one leg. "Next time, make sure I can't get up. Anyway that's the end of the game." He announced as the sun was going to set soon. Groans of dismay were heard as the kids lamented their failure. "Don't worry you're still getting ice cream." He assured.

They all jumped in joy, even Hanabi. Hinata smiled as her sister was thoroughly enjoying herself. Hinata noticed that Naruto was motioning her over. "How is your leg Naruto-kun?" She asked worryingly.

"It should be okay in a few hours. Anyway can you take the kids out for some ice cream?" Naruto asked as he fished for his frog wallet. He handed over some bills to Hinata. "Sorry but I got something to do after this." He apologized.

"You're leaving again?" The kids sans Hanabi complained.

"Sorry kiddos, next time." Naruto replied as he ruffled each one of their heads. "You're welcome to come play with us next time." He said as he ruffled Hanabi's head. Hinata noticed that her sister didn't seemed displeased by the action. "Bye Hinata." He said before using **Shunshin **to leave the park.

"He always says that." Moegi sulked.

"He never comes eat with us." Udon added.

"Naruto-kun is busy. After all he has to train for the upcoming Exams." Hinata tried to consul the kids, although she also wondered why he didn't come along. "Alright so how about that ice cream?" Their moods immediately perked up as they raced towards the park exit.

"Onee-san do you think I can come play here sometimes?" Hanabi asked, pulling the hem of her sister's kimono. Hinata had a small grin on her face as she leaned down.

"Of course you can. It's nice to play with your friends." Hinata said as she rubbed her little sister's head.

"Friends." Hanabi muttered at the foreign word.

"Nee-chan, Hanabi-chan come on." Konohamaru called to them.

"Don't add chan." Hanabi blushed slightly before barking back as she ran ahead. Hinata grabbed her groceries, relieved that she didn't buy any food or it would had spoiled. She made her way towards the group who were patiently waiting for her.

***Day 6***

"-998, 999, 1,000." Lee grunted out as he finished his set of one handed push-ups. "Yosh I have completed my morning warm ups!" He yelled exuberantly as went into the bathroom to take a shower. In the blink of an eye, he was out and dressed in his green suit. Lee caught himself on his mirror. "Yosh, Sakura-san will fall in love with me today." He said while striking the nice guy pose. Lee exited his apartment without glancing back. The sun hadn't even risen by the time Lee left his home.

Lee lived in the lower residential area that were reserved for shinobi. He had lived in the apartment for a year now. The male no longer lived at the orphanage as he was now a shinobi. Lee was never adopted unlike the rest of his orphanage friends. Lee never knew why he wasn't adopted but he didn't pay it no mind. He was happy for his orphanage friends especially Tenten.

The day she found out that she was being adopted was one of the happiest and saddest day of his life. Although happy that Tenten had found a family, he was sad that he was losing a close friend. It worked out in the end as they were placed onto the same Genin team. Lee broke out of his thoughts as he headed towards the mission office. Lee would regularly take a mission in the morning as a way to earn money as well as a form of training.

Lee landed in front of the Hokage Tower and entered the building. "Good morning Iruka-san." Lee greeted the scarred Chunin exuberantly. The Chunin could only shake his head at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Good morning Lee, here for another mission?" Iruka asked as he stifled a yawn.

"Hai, I would like the most physically demanding one please." Lee requested. He always took the hardest D-rank mission.

"Already have it." Iruka said as he pulled out the mission. "Miyazaki-san needs boulders cleared from his acres of land. He wants to use it as farm land but the boulders are in the way. The location is northeast civilian district." He explained to Lee.

"Yosh I'll get this done in an hour. If I cannot, then I'll run back here on my hands!" Lee proclaimed as he dashed away. The dust caused Iruka to cough.

"So much energy." Iruka commented. Lee arrived in no time and immediately arrived at the client's house.

"Miyazaki-san, I'm here for your request." Lee shouted at the top of his lungs. Luckily, Miyazaki had no neighbors or they would had complained. A middle aged man opened the door and began glaring at Lee.

"Boy do you know what time it is?" He shouted.

"It's around 6 in the morning, I believe." Lee answered politely. The man groaned.

"Fine just move the boulders near the lake over there." The man pointed to the lake. "And don't wake me up until you're done." He said before slamming the door roughly. Lee did as told and began his mission to remove the boulders. There were several boulders twice the size of Lee but Lee didn't back down from a challenge. He carried the massive rocks and set up a perimeter around the lake. He finished his mission in a little less than an hour, allowing him to walk back on his feet.

"Miyazaki-san, I'm finished." Lee shouted. The man came out and in his disbelief, Lee had indeed moved all the boulders.

"Wow thanks boy. You're pretty strong." The man complimented as he signed the mission form. Miyazaki thanked Lee before the boy ran off. The sun was beginning to rise in the sky. The male made his way back to the mission office.

"Already back Lee." Iruka commented.

"Hai, mission complete." Lee replied as he handed over the signed document. Iruka received the document and handed Lee his payment.

"Alright Lee, you're good to go." Iruka finished. Lee saluted before rushing off, causing a wind to blow the documents into the air. "I've got to tell him to stop doing that." The Chunin told himself as he took a piece of paper off his head. As Lee was hopping roof to roof, he spotted Naruto headed towards the training ground.

"Naruto-kun!" The bowl cut Genin yelled to his friend. Lee stop in front of the blonde, who didn't seem amused to see him. This was the typical reaction Lee received when he called out to someone. He wonder why he always got that reaction.

"Morning Lee. Did you have to shout?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his ears.

"Good morning to you too Naruto-kun." Lee greeted. "Would you like to race to the training ground?" Lee asked, although no one accepts his challenges other than Gai and sometimes Neji.

"Sure why not?" Naruto shrugged as he began stretching his legs. Lee was joyful as someone accepted his challenge.

"Yosh, if I lose then I'll do 1,000 pull-ups. If I can't do that, then I'll run a 100 laps around Konoha." Lee motivated himself. This generally helped him strive harder, though he didn't really need extra motivation.

"Lee how about you let me decide your punishment?" Naruto suggested. Lee didn't catch the gleam in the blonde's eye.

"What a wonderful idea Naruto-kun." Lee praised. "What shall my punishment be?"

Naruto took a thinking pose and began thinking of something he hated that Lee did. "You will not hug Gai-sensei for the entire day. If you can't do that, then you'll have to go an entire week without wearing any spandex suit." Naruto informed. Lee paled at the punishment. It would be impossible to hug Gai as it was like a daily ritual of theirs. The second punishment was even worse! Why couldn't anyone understand that the spandex was a way of life?

"I accept Naruto-kun." Lee accepted because he never backed down from a challenge.

"Alright. We start on 3." Naruto said as he lined up next to Lee.

"1" Lee said as he leaned forward.

"2" Naruto continued the count as he got ready to dash.

"3" They said simultaneously as they both took off. Both took to the roofs to avoid civilians walking in the streets. Lee has a slight lead on Naruto with one mile until the grounds. To the civilians, the two were like blurs passing by. Lee wondered how fast the blonde was. Not many people, regardless of rank, could keep up with him on just pure speed. Just as Lee jumped to the next roof, Naruto disappeared into an alleyway.

'_Naruto-kun must know a shortcut to the training ground.'_ Lee concluded as he picked up his pace. Lee continued to run with no Naruto in sight. The goal was less than 500 feet away so Lee kicked into another gear. He wouldn't underestimate Naruto like others had. Lee knew that the whiskered boy was strong and that he was a worthy rival. Just as Lee expected, Naruto had appeared from an alleyway.

"Stop going so fast Lee." Naruto shouted with joy in voice. It seemed that he was also having fun. Naruto lined up next to Lee with 200 feet until the goal.

"I will win Naruto-kun." Lee shouted as he created some distance.

"Hey I was going to say that." Naruto replied as he caught up. Both combatants ran with gusto as the finish line was near. Lee had Naruto on his back and was preventing him from overpassing him. Suddenly Naruto sped up and began to overtake Lee, despite the fact that the spandex wearing boy was running at his highest pure speed. Lee pumped more energy into his legs and lined up next to Naruto. The goal was right in front of them and Naruto did something unexpected. The blonde jumped forward, gaining a slight edge as he passed the line. Lee passed the line a second later.

"You jumped." Lee stated while panting. He was trying to breathe in the precious oxygen.

"Yeah, I had to or I wouldn't have beat you." Naruto said as he laid on the grass. Naruto pulled out two bottles of water from a scroll and tossed one to Lee. The two boys drowned the liquid with a ferocity.

"How were you able to overtake me? It was like you gained more speed." Lee asked.

"I used you to block the wind. This allowed me to not use as much energy. I then use that leftover energy to overtake you. I didn't expect you to go even faster." Naruto explained as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The next few minutes were spent on recovering as the boys were too tired to continue the conversation.

"Naruto-kun." Lee called to get his attention. "Gai-sensei told me that you're an orphan as well. I don't remember hearing about you in the orphanage." Lee said.

"So you're an orphan too." Naruto stated. "Well I was probably put into a different orphanage from you." Naruto concluded. Lee nodded as that was probably true. After the Kyuubi attack, lots of orphanages opened up because so many parents lost their lives in the attack.

"Gai-sensei said that you and I are alike. He said that we're both orphans and that we were both Dead Last." Lee said with a grin.

"Hey that's true. I never thought about it until now." Naruto laughed. "Now look at us now. Two Dead Lasts that are going to pass the Chunin Exams." He said with confidence.

"Of course we will!" Lee shouted in reply.

"You two have such great passions of youth!" Gai yelled as he appeared from nowhere. "Lee, Naruto-kun I'm so proud of you." Gai said with a beaming smile.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Naruto!" The blonde butted in but the spandex duo paid it no heed.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The two inched closer for a hug when Lee remember the punishment for losing. He quickly halted just before he was smothered in his sense's embrace. Gai was confused as he felt like he was hugging air. "I'm sorry Gai-sensei but I cannot hug you for the entire day." Lee said bitterly.

"Why not Lee?" Gai-sensei asked as his pupil NEVER refused a hug.

"This is my punishment for losing a race against Naruto. If I hug you today, then I'll be forced to forgo wearing the great spandex suit for an entire week." Lee said with a shaking fist. This punishment will test his willpower. Gai was appalled. Why couldn't anyone understand the brilliance of the spandex suit? The material allowed maximum flexibility while the tightness increased aerodynamics. Gai put a hand on his pupil's shoulder, making Lee look up at him.

"I believe in you Lee. I'll also make sure not to hug you for the entire day." Gai said supporting.

"I'll make you proud Gai-sensei." Lee shouted with tears appearing. The two almost hugged in that moment but they were able to restrain themselves.

'_They aren't going to last the entire day.' _Naruto assumed. Just as the blonde thought, it didn't take long for the spandex duo to hug. In fact, it took twenty minutes but that was a record in itself.

**Reviews:**

**Please read my stuff, raw666, buterflypus, Ninjafang 1331, Schnarf, l1s44p, and BartWLewis - **Thanks you very much!

**Apedreitor – **Thanks, Ino will continue to improve and be a capable kunoichi.

**emilbootanimefreak - **Naruto is going to have a problem with his Taijutsu unless something happens. The make up between the two is two chapters away. I think…

**Illuminated - **I didn't exactly know how many reps was a good amount so I just made it up LOL.

**Un-named Monarch – **That's the training method. Did I not write that?

**firetemplar415 - **Yeah I think adding a little angst makes the story more realistic.

**loganhunter2 - **Naruten is going to come. I promise.

**R.D.T. - **Only this story will cover C rank and below. The sequel will have techniques such as the Rasengan.

**Unsladdtorjun -** Shoot even I forgot about those goggles! They're so darn forgettable. You have a pet leviathan!? TOO COOL!

**Uber Ghidorah - **...That may or may not happen.

**Alex2909 - **Yeah I want to expand on the basics as they could be deadly. Tsunade and Shizune seems to be a favorite in my story. Looks like they're getting more screen time.

**Waldo Santiago - **I added the dream part because I think she would generally be worried about something like that. I want them to see Naruto not as beneath them but rather as equals.

**Dark Black Fox - **I know but finding some good aces are hard. I do have a couple though.

**felixgi -** I don't plan on having Jiraiya teach Naruto Taijutsu, at least not yet anyway. Iwa Nin are going to go crazy!

**MetallicMilitia – **Thanks, Naruto isn't going to have a new style. I think all the Konoha 12 deserves some time to improve and change.

**Cerulean Knight - **One word: Yes

**shadespace - **Summoning is C-Rank. Higher ranked jutsu are going to be in the sequel. I secretly wished Anko was going to sneak in but Samui made a comeback at the end. I still like Samui though.

**DetectiveJuice - **I prefer the Japanese Names because it seems more authentic.

**ShadowTomes - **You guys are making me feel bad for making Tenten feel bad. Gosh damn it!

**pyro357 - **I'll try my best.

**icefox - **Sorry I try my best to edit the chapters to the best of my ability but I tend to miss stuff.

**ChronoMitsurugi - **Thank you! I always wanted a hat tip. I don't particularly like Jiraiya either but he'll have a chance to redeem himself. After all, everyone deserves a second chance. Well, almost everyone.

**Shikaku Zetsumei – **I'll try to go back and correct it. I don't know if it's on purpose but you have three Naruto character names in your username. Pretty awesome!


	11. Chapter 11

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/28/16.

**A.N. **

Haha I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying Lee's misery. You people are so evil! Anyways, I had an extremely hard time deciding Lee's outfit. It was frustrating as I couldn't imagine him in anything else but I finally did it. I hope you like Lee's temporary outfit.

In other news, the next chapter will cover Tenten, Haku, Jiraiya, and someone else. I was stomped on who to write about, when I had a brilliant idea where you guys chose the last person for me. So help me out and vote on the character you wish for me to write. The poll is up on my profile. Thanks and enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 11: Quadruple S**

***Day 7***

Sakura wondered if she was dreaming. If she was indeed dreaming, the kunoichi wished she would wake up. The sight in front of her was so repulsive that she had to force herself not to throw up. Despite how hideous the sight was, her eyes refused to avert itself. It was as if kami was trying to punish her for something. She knew Lee had a horrible sense of fashion when he insisted to wear that god awful green spandex suit. But this! This was…She couldn't explain it. Sakura had tried to find an answer but they eluded her.

She would rather the sun burn her eyes out than to keeping looking at Lee. For some reason, Lee had changed outfits. Normally she would be thankful for his change in attire, but not when he changed to Naruto's old orange jumpsuit! "Naruto-kun was right, Gai-sensei." Lee spoke excitingly. "Sakura-san cannot take her eyes off me!" He shouted in triumph.

Lee was right that she couldn't take her eyes off of him except it was for an entirely different reason. Sakura's vision was filled with Naruto's kill me orange and Lee's bushy brows. The extreme contrast between the caterpillar eyebrows and the striking orange was too much. Sakura almost wished that Lee would revert to his old outfit. Almost.

The deadly combo of Lee and Naruto's old jumpsuit was enough to make most shinobi gag. Now add an adult version of Lee and you had a knockout punch. Shikamaru had managed to avert his eyes fast enough to enjoy cloud gazing. His teammates weren't as lucky as Ino had fainted as soon as she saw the duo. Her friend was murmuring things in her sleep, no doubt having a nightmare. Chouji had stopped mid motion of putting a chip into his mouth while Asuma's cigarette had fallen out of his mouth.

Team 8 froze in place. They hadn't moved a single step since they caught sight of Gai and Lee. Sakura wondered if they were still breathing. Kiba had luckily shielded Akamaru's eyes while the Inuzuka's jaw hung loose. The rosette saw that Kurenai had tried to unsuccessfully break the Genjutsu. Sakura only wished it was a Genjutsu. Shino didn't show any outward reaction but the sound of his insects buzzing meant he was definitely rattled. Hinata stood there, unaffected by the duo. _'No wait.' _Sakura looked closer. _'Oh she fainted while standing.'_

Kakashi continued to reading his orange book, not fazed by the two. Sasuke had simply averted his eyes while Naruto could be seen trying to contain his laughter. Her team, amazingly, was mostly unaffected by the display. Neji and Tenten reacted as if they were used to it. The pinkette shuddered as she hoped that she would never get used to the antics of Gai and Lee.

Naruto could no longer contain his laughter and began rolling on the grass. "HAHAHAHAHA OH- HAHAHAHA!" The blonde couldn't even speak properly. Sakura knew that he was the cause of this. After several grueling minutes, Naruto spoke again. "Ok Lee you can take it off now." Naruto managed to say after his laughter died down. Lee and Gai tore off the jumpsuits to reveal…Chinese clothing underneath.

Lee's top was similar to Tenten's except that it was a black variety. Underneath Lee wore a long white shirt with the cuffs pulled up to show wrappings around his arms. Black shinobi pants adorned his pants while closed toes shoes covered his feet. Meanwhile his hitai-ate was wrapped tightly around his left bicep. The outfit was a huge upgrade compared to the spandex suit and the jumpsuit. (This is Bruce Lee's kung fu outfit for those of you who need a visual.)

"What do you think Sakura-san?" Lee asked his crush. "Tenten's father made this outfit for me because I didn't have any other clothing besides my wonderful green suit." He added. Sakura could see that Tenten was nodding her head in approval. The pinkette silently thanked Tenten's father for saving her and everyone else from seeing Lee in his horrible outfits.

"It looks good Lee-san. I like it better than your usual outfit." She answered honestly. She greatly preferred this outfit over the striking green. Sakura could see Lee's confliction as she betted that he was debating whether to return to his old outfit or not.

"Now that Lee and Gai has thankfully changed." Kurenai said as she debated whether to make a Genjutsu of what she saw earlier. She already had a Genjutsu based on the youth duo so she probably didn't need another one. "Let's begin training. Today's exercise is team synergy. We'll break up from here to practice among our teams. Your sensei will explain the rest to you." Kurenai explained as she went to recover her team.

Kakashi had finally closed his favorite orange book to address his team. "Let's meet back at our old training ground." Kakashi ordered before disappearing in smoke. Sakura followed suit by using **Shunshin** as well. The kunoichi was grateful that she learned such a useful skill as it made getting around easier. Unfortunately, she still got dizzy upon landing. Sakura arrived at the grounds with Sasuke and Naruto appearing right behind her.

"So what are we doing today Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Today's training is you three hanging out with each other." Kakashi answered, waiting for their reactions. They didn't disappoint as the Genins had confused expressions.

"Let me get this right." Sasuke was the first to recover. "You want us to hang out with each other. How is this going to help our teamwork?" The Uchiha asked. His teammates nodded in agreement.

"One way to train teamwork is to spend time together and bond. While there are other ways to bond, spending time together is an effective way to know your teammates." Kakashi explained. His students looked at him skeptically. "Fine. If you guys are so adamant on training, we can climb a mountain like Team Gai is doing." Kakashi eye-smiled as his students quickly shook their heads. "Well, have fun." He said before vanishing.

The trio looked at each other, unsure on how to proceed. "How about we go to somebody's house?" Sakura suggested.

"That's not a good idea." Naruto replied as Sasuke agreed. Both lived alone and their places wasn't exactly hospitable. Sakura wondered what the problem as she realized she knew nothing about her teammates. She knew that Naruto was an orphan while Sasuke lost his family in the massacre. But those were facts that everyone in the village knew. Sakura frowned as she was now hoping to know a little more about her teammates.

"How about we sit here and talk?" She suggested. This suggestion was accepted as the trio sat down on the grass. "I guess I'll start. How is your training?" She started with a simple question.

"I've been training with Kakashi-sensei on my Sharingan and Ninjutsu. I did train with Gai-san for a day but I stopped after that because he was too hyper for me." Sasuke replied as he shivered from the memory of that day.

"My training has been all over the place because I've been training with the other Genins. I've been sparring with them so we can see each other weaknesses. The only time I've train with a sensei is with Gai-sensei." Naruto answered.

"Oh yeah Ino told me about that." The rosette remembered. "She was complaining that you and Gai-san wouldn't stop moving." Sakura added as she remembered the conversation with Ino.

"You and Ino are friends again, Sakura?" Naruto asked since he remembered they were rivals of love or so they proclaimed.

"Huh?" Sakura responded, caught off guard by the question. "Yeah we decided to put our rivalry for Sasuke on hold to focus on the exams." She told them. "I'm still waiting for my date Sasuke-kun." Sakura teased the Uchiha.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted. Sakura wondered if that was a yes or a no. "Anyway how has your training been progressing Sakura?" The Uchiha asked.

"I've been training with the senseis mostly because I haven't really found anything that I excel at." Sakura said disappointingly. "Although Kurenai-san says I've an aptitude for Genjutsu. Also Asuma-san has been training me to incorporate my new weapon with Tsunade-sama's Taijutsu." She said with pride.

"Asuma-san gave you a weapon?" Naruto asked. The kunoichi grinned as she pulled out a scroll and pumped some chakra into it. Out of the scrolls, came a pair of wooden sticks that had handles on them.

"Tonfas?" Sasuke said as he recognized the weapon.

"Yup." Sakura smiled. "Kakashi-sensei originally asked Asuma-san to train me with trench knives. We switched to tonfas because it was better suited for my chakra nature." Sakura explained briefly.

"That's amazing Sakura, I can't wait to see you use it." Naruto complimented. Sakura appreciated the praise. "So what are your plans for today?" Naruto asked his teammates.

"As much as I loathe it, I have to head over to Gai-san after this. Kakashi keeps telling me that I shouldn't be over reliant on the Sharingan." Sasuke frowned as he was getting tired of his sensei mentioning it.

"I'm going to Shizune-san to learn about poisons and herbs. If I'm lucky, I can add some poison to my arsenal." Sakura said hopefully.

"That sounds cool. Can I come Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked when he realized that he added the extra suffix. He knew that Sakura hated it so he braced himself for the inevitable hit. It never came.

"Sure you can Naruto." Sakura said sweetly. Although she would never say it out loud, she missed it when Naruto stopped calling her affectionately. Sakura didn't like Naruto as anything other than a friend but it helped her self-esteem that someone found her attractive. She could only hope that Sasuke would one day call her affectionately.

"Great!" Naruto brighten. "You know, I'm glad we're talking like this. We never hung out with each other before." He pointed out. Sakura had to frown at that fact. In the past she would brush off Naruto for Sasuke, leaving the blonde to himself. It took a mission that went wrong to understand that the blonde was also a part of the team. The worst part was when he protected her and Sasuke from danger against Zabuza.

"Naruto, thanks for being my teammate and saving us all those times." Sakura thanked him. The blonde was floored as he never expected the rosette to thank him.

"No problem Sakura-chan." Naruto replied with a wide grin. Sasuke grunted but he also had a smile on his face, albeit a small one.

"We should hang out more often." Sakura said before catching herself. "After the Chunin Exams, of course." She suggested as Naruto and Sasuke agreed. "That includes you too Kakashi-sensei." She said, much to the shock of everyone.

"I forgot that you're a chakra sensor, Sakura." Kakashi commented as he appeared in front of the trio. "It looks like you three are having a good time." He gave his patented eye-smile. Sakura always thought it was weird how she was able to tell his expressions, considering the fact that the only thing she saw was an eye.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke eyed the Jonin suspiciously.

"Well what kind of sensei would I be if I didn't bond with my students?" He answered defensively. The actual truth was that Kurenai and her team spotted him in town reading his orange book. The Ice Queen quickly reprimanded him for not spending time with his students like they agreed upon. He quickly escaped before she unleashed her patented anti-pervert Genjutsu. He had heard the horrors of the Genjutsu and didn't want to experience it first-hand.

"Somebody probably caught him reading porn in public so they were scolding him. He escaped and came back here." Naruto figured as Sakura snickered at her sensei.

"Hey this isn't porn!" Kakashi refuted. "This is the book of the gods!" The one eyed Jonin raised his beloved book into the air. All three students began laughing at their sensei. Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. The quartet began conversing about the most random things and were enjoying themselves.

***Day 8***

Shikamaru yawned for the umpteenth time as he lazily watched the clouds. Today was simply perfect as his father was with the Hokage. That meant he was free from additional training. He had honestly been overexerting himself for the past couple of days and needed a day to recuperate. Today was a great day to do just that as clouds filled the sky. "Nara Shikamaru, get off your lazy behind and start training." The voice of his mother shouted. It was almost a perfect day.

Shikamaru sighed as he wondered if he could tune out the troublesome woman and her shouting. As much as he loved his mother, he could do without her constant nagging. He honestly wondered why his father married his mother. When he asked his father, Shikaku told him that all woman had a tender side as long as you looked for it. That sounded too troublesome for Shikamaru. Why couldn't woman be simple?

"Hello Yoshino-san." An equally troublesome voice greeted his mother. His mother responded by hugging the stuffing out of Naruto. Shikamaru remembered when his friendship with the blonde grew. He had saved the blonde from his classmates' teasing. He always knew that the class and the teachers made fun of Naruto for no apparent reason. He chose not to bother with it the other times because it was too troublesome.

He immensely regretted his inaction when he found out why Naruto was harassed by the villagers. Although his classmates were partially to blame, they were simply doing whatever the adults were doing. The adults were the true monsters for isolating Naruto. His close friend faced more difficulties than anybody he knew their age. Shikamaru wondered how the blonde boy could shrug off the insults and move on. In Naruto's position, he would had fled the village ages ago despite how troublesome it would be to escape. Naruto was, without a doubt, one of the strongest people he knew as the jinchuriki was able to withstand the abuse.

"Hey Shika." The jinchūriki greeted with a smile after escaping Yoshino's clutches.

"Hey Naruto." He greeted back. "Could we spar another time?" The Nara heir proposed, much to Naruto's confusion. Shika sighed as he now needed to explain himself. "Chouji told me that you're going around sparing with the other Genins. I figured that it's my turn."

"Don't worry Shika, your spar is different from the others." Naruto grinned as he sat down. "You want to play shogi or go?" Naruto asked.

"Now that's my type of sparing." Shikamaru smirked as he went to get the shogi board. If there was one thing he liked more than cloud watching, it was playing shogi. "I haven't played in a while because I've been too busy." The black haired boy confessed as he came back with the board. The two friends began setting up the board as Yoshino came outside.

"Shika-chan, Naru-chan." She called, much to the boys' embarrassment. "I'm going to the market to buy some groceries for tonight's dinner. That means you're staying for dinner Naru-chan." She told them. Naruto was about to protest when she intervened. "And no buts. You're staying and that's final."

"Hai Yoshino-san." The blonde said as he resigned to his fate. "I'll go with you Yoshino-san." Naruto said as he stood up.

"It's okay. You can stay here Naru-chan." She declined. "See Shika, why can't you be more like your friend?" Yoshino questioned as she put her hands on her hips. Her son audibly groaned as she left.

"Great. Now she's going to constantly compare me to you." The Nara boy complained. Naruto snickered at his friend's dismay.

"She's only teasing you Shika. Come on let's play." Naruto said as he made the first move. Shikamaru analyzed the battlefield because even the first move could be a set up for a trap. After a few seconds, the Nara moved his piece. The two boys went back and forth, taking and dropping their pieces. As Naruto was pondering his next move, Shikamaru decided to bring up a topic that worried him.

"What are you going to about your appearance in the Chunin Exams?" He asked as Naruto looked up.

"You want to talk about this now?" The jinchuriki asked as he made his next move. He quickly looked around to see if anyone was in hearing distance.

"Why not?" Shikamaru questioned. "There's no one here besides us and the exams are coming closer." He shrugged as he moved another piece to corner Naruto.

"Do you really think Iwa and Kumo are going to recognize me as his son?" Naruto asked as he set a trap on the other side of the board. Shikamaru quirked his eyebrow at the board.

"Kumo maybe not. But Iwa definitely will. They've been on the lookout for blondes from Konoha since the last war. That's why the Yamanaka clan aren't allowed to partake in any missions near Iwa's border." Shikamaru said as he went into his thinking pose.

"I don't think I should hide my appearance. Our friends will get suspicious about the sudden change, not to mention, we don't know how many people know the fact that I'm his son." Naruto reasoned. Shikamaru opened his eyes and directed his rook to the outside of Naruto's trap. The blond capitalized by capturing the rook with his bishop. Shikamaru easily countered by moving his lance into the same square. Naruto groaned as he fell for the bait.

"That's true. We know for certain that my parents know about your heritage. So that means any numbers of adults could know about your heritage. It's probably better if we don't do anything that draws attention." The black haired boy concluded as Naruto moved his king forward. Shikamaru squinted his eyes at the unorthodox move. Naruto's king was open to be checkmated in a few turns. The Nara went back into his thinking pose.

"I love it when I force you into that pose." Naruto laughed heartily.

"As frustrating as it is to play you, you allow me to come up with different strategies." Shikamaru said as he promoted his pawn to a bishop while also having a chance to capture Naruto's king from behind. That was when he noticed his mistake. He had left his own king wide open, giving Naruto's promoted lance a clear shot. The Nara boy remained impassive as he tried not to give away his position. The blonde looked as if he was going for a pawn.

Shikamaru was relieved but then Naruto moved his hand to his promoted lance. The blonde smirked as he saw the despair in Shikamaru's eyes. _'He knows!' _Shikamaru cursed as Naruto captured his king.

"Woohoo I beat Shikamaru!" The blonde shouted in celebration.

"Haha Shika, looks like Naruto is catching up to you." Shikaku smiled as he made his way towards the two.

"You bet Shikaku-san." Naruto shouted as he took his victory lap. Shikaku looked at the board, analyzing both players' moves.

"How was Naruto able to capture your king so easily?" Shikaku asked his son.

"Naruto caught me off guard by doing an unorthodox move. I then made a careless mistake when I moved my pawn, hoping to get a better chance at his king." Shikamaru explained.

"You live and learn. Sometimes things catch you off guard, hoping to draw your attention. Try not to narrow your decisions based on one move as there are other ways to win." Shikaku advised as he patted his son's shoulder.

"Troublesome. First I lose and now I get lectured." Shikamaru said but he was smiling. Naruto always found ways to catch him off guard. Speaking of the blonde, Naruto was still running his victory dance around the yard. "Rematch?" He asked. At least his days were interesting with the blonde in his life.

***Day 9***

"Shino want to train together?" Naruto asked his friend. Shino was currently heading to Kakashi for additional training, when his best friend stopped him. The kikaichu user wanted to learn a Ninjutsu that was compatible with his skill set. After spending a few days at home to nurture his various insects and practicing clan techniques, Shino decided to heed Kurenai's advice.

"I am sorry Naruto but I have already requested training from Kakashi-san today. I regret that we would be unable to train together as I have prior arrangements." Shino neutrally spoke. In truth, he was sadden because it had been quite some time since he spent time with Naruto. The blonde had a way of opening up the stoic Aburame.

"That's fine, we can go train with Kakashi-sensei together." Naruto compromised. Shino was relieved that Naruto had wanted to spend the day with him. He had heard that the jinchuriki was going around sparring with their fellow Genins and didn't want to be the only one that didn't spar with the blonde. The duo made their way towards Training Ground 7, where Shino was meeting Kakashi.

"So you're trying to add Ninjutsu to your arsenal?" Naruto guessed, making idle talk.

"Hai. Besides my clan techniques, my Ninjutsu is lacking in diversity. If my opponent was able to neutralize my kikaichu, then I will be hard pressed to win. I am thankful that Kurenai-sensei had suggested that we expand our skills." Shino replied.

"Don't worry Shino. Kakashi-sensei is known as the Copy Nin so he has over a thousand jutsus. There's bound to be one that will fit your needs." Naruto assured. The Aburame nodded as they arrived at the training grounds.

"Yo." Kakashi waved. "I didn't expect you to come as well Naruto." He said cheerfully.

"Yup I wanted to train with Shino but he was going to train with you. So I thought I'll come too since I haven't trained with you yet Kakashi-sensei." Naruto answered.

"Okay that's fine with me." Kakashi replied as he faced the Aburame. "Shino if I remember correctly, you have a Katon affinity." The Jonin said, which Shino nodded. "I was wondering if your bugs would be okay when you use fire jutsus." He inquired. The brown haired boy was annoyed that Kakashi had labeled his partners as mere bugs but he wasn't going to voice it.

"Kakashi-sensei, you can't call Shino's kikaichu 'bugs'. That's insulting to the Aburame as the kikaichu are their partners. They prefer kikaichu, partners, or insects. Bugs are a type of insect so not all insects are bugs." Naruto informed his sensei. The taller boy was happy that Naruto had come to his defense. No one had ever came to his defense before.

"I apologize Shino. I didn't mean to insult you." The silver haired man apologized.

"Please do not apologize Kakashi-san. You had no way of knowing as I didn't inform you." Shino believed he was partially at fault for not correcting the Jonin's words.

"Great but back to my question. Will your insects be fine while you're using fire jutsus?" Kakashi repeated.

"I have no way of knowing as none of my clan has attempted to use fire jutsus. Several clan members use Doton and Suiton Ninjutsu without incident. I will be the first to test if fire jutsus are compatible with my kikaichu."

"Alright." Kakashi nodded. "Naruto can you teach Shino the hand signs for **Katon: Ichi (One)**?" Kakashi asked as his student nodded. The blonde showed his friend the hand signs for the E-Rank Katon jutsu. Shino mirrored Naruto's actions and unleased the jutsu **"Katon: Ichi."** A small flame erupted from his index finger. "Is the jutsu affecting the insects in your body?" Kakashi inquired.

Shino took a few seconds to see if anything was wrong with his partners. "It seems that they are restless at the moment but nothing drastic has happened. I believe they are trying to get used to the heat that my body is producing." Shino observed.

Kakashi nodded. "Okay, for now cancel the jutsu and we'll try again in a bit." Kakashi advised. Shino did as told and felt that his partners were beginning to calm down. "In the meantime, beside your clan techniques, what other jutsus do you know?" Kakashi asked.

"I am proficient in the jutsus that were taught at the Academy. They are the only jutsus that I know." The Aburame informed.

"Alright I'm going to teach you two, **Kage Shuriken no Jutsu." **The Copy Nin said.

"That sounds cool." Naruto said excitingly. Shino remained impassive, contrary to his blonde friend.

"This technique was originally a Shurikenjutsu, requiring two or more shurikens to work. The Sandaime eventually improved on it and it became a Ninjutsu." Kakashi explained as he took out three ninja stars from his pouch. "Watch carefully as I'll show you two the technique as a Shurikenjutsu and then as a Ninjutsu." He told. The Copy Nin placed two Shurikens in his right hand and quickly threw it towards a nearby tree. The two Genins watched as a single shuriken soared through the air. The shurikens impacted the tree with one of them beneath the other.

"Man if you hadn't told me beforehand, I would've never knew there was two." Naruto proclaimed as it looked like the shuriken had split into two.

"It is logical to assume that you hid a shuriken underneath the other. This would catch the opponent off guard as they would only be expecting one." Shino said what he analyzed.

"That's correct Shino. The point of this technique is to catch the enemy off guard to give you an advantage. Now I'll show you the Ninjutsu version." Kakashi said as he threw a single shuriken into the air. Just like before, two shurikens impacted the tree.

"You made a copy of the shuriken." Naruto stated. The reasoning was solid as the Genins both knew that Kakashi had only threw one ninja star.

"Exactly. The **Kage Shuriken no Jutsu **is a version of the **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.** By making a copy of the shuriken, it's even harder for the opponent to spot the copy underneath the original." Kakashi enlightened. The Aburame noticed a problem with the demonstration.

"You used no hand signs nor did you yell out the name of the technique." Shino wondered if that was due to the fact that Kakashi remembered how much chakra to put into it. Most shinobi tended to yell the name of their techniques as a way of stabilizing the technique for use.

"The reason I didn't use hand signs or say anything is because it'll ruin the element of surprise. I recommend you two to practice this jutsu until you can do it without hands signs and saying the name of the technique." Kakashi recommended. The two Genins nodded as he showed them the hand signs.

The new jutsu didn't take much out of Shino's reserves as he was able to practice it for an hour straight. This new Ninjutsu would complement his style well as he frequently used shurikens. By using this technique, it would buy him and his kikaichu time to attack. Kakashi eventually stopped him after another thirty minutes. "Alright Shino, I want you to try the Katon jutsu again." Kakashi said and Shino did as commanded. His body temperature rose several degrees but unlike last time, his kikaichu had adapted to the heat.

"My partners have adjusted to the increased temperature. This jutsu should not affect them any longer." Shino informed. Kakashi nodded as he gave an eye smile.

"Perfect. I'll start teaching you a C-Rank Katon Ninjutsu. I want you to make sure that your insects are well adjusted before we move on." Kakashi said. Shino didn't reply but he was grateful that the Jonin wanted to assure his partners' safety. The Jonin was teaching Shino a Katon jutsu while Naruto practiced on the **Kage Shuriken no Jutsu**.

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto called out to his sensei. The Jonin turned his attention to his sensei's son. "Are there any Ninjutsu scrolls in the library?" Naruto asked curiously. The Copy Nin took a thinking pose as he pondered the question.

"There are Ninjutsu scrolls for you to read and rent at the library. At Genin rank, the highest ranked Ninjutsu you can access is C-Rank." Kakashi answered. "I could teach you some jutsus if you like." He offered hopefully.

"No thanks Kakashi-sensei. You have other people to teach." Naruto refused. The blonde noticed his sensei's dejection to his answer. "But can I come to you for advice if I have any questions?" He asked.

"Of course you can Naruto." Kakashi replied brightly.

"Hey Shino, I'm going to the library. I'll meet you at your house to hang out later." Naruto told his friend before vanishing in a swirl of leaves. The grounds was silent as the main source of noise was gone.

"Thank you for being his friend." Kakashi murmured to Shino. The Aburame was able to pick it up and turned to the Jonin, who began reading his usual orange book. Shino eyed Kakashi suspiciously behind his shades. The brown haired boy figured that Kakashi thanked him because of Naruto's past but the Genin had a feeling that wasn't the entire reason. Shino nodded before resuming his practice.

***Day 10***

It was afternoon when Sasuke made his way towards the Konoha Cemetery with a bouquet in hand. Today was the birthday of his mother, Uchiha Mikoto. It had been quite some time since he last visited her grave as he had been too preoccupied with other matters. That was mostly an excuse as he couldn't bear to visit the graves of his family members. The visit only reminded him that he was alone in the world and that he lost everything to his traitorous brother. Sasuke shook his head, hoping to clear his head as he continued his stride.

As soon as Sasuke arrived to the civilian part of town, he was swarmed by random people. Civilians would constantly greet him and ask him how he was doing. He would grunt an answer before continuing his journey. He had enough manners to at least answer them. Fan girls would follow his every step, hoping to strike a conversation with him. It irked him to no end that they were following him. How he wished he could just yell at them to leave him alone.

To him, these people were hollow and fake. They professed their undying love for him but not a single one of them knew him. All they knew was that he was the last loyal Uchiha. Sasuke took to the rooftops to get away from the girls. Some tried to pursue him but none of them were able to keep up with a shinobi. The raven haired boy finally arrived to the cemetery and began walking towards his mother's tombstone.

As he walked closer, he noticed that someone was standing at his mother's grave. He noticed the familiar mop of yellow hair and instantly knew who it was. "Naruto, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked. The blond jerked in surprise and began rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.

"Hey Sasuke." The blonde greeted without the usual enthusiasm. Sasuke looked at him oddly, wondering what was wrong with him. He then noticed that there was already a bouquet of flowers on his mother's grave.

"Did you put those flowers there?" Sasuke questioned the blonde. _'Does Naruto know my mother?'_ He wondered. The blonde didn't answer the question. Sasuke was confused as his teammate never acted like this.

"Yeah I did." Naruto finally managed to reply.

"How do you know my mother?" The Uchiha asked. Naruto started fidgeting as if it was like he didn't want to be there.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" The jinchuriki asked.

"Sure." Sasuke replied as he put down the flowers. He said a quick prayer for his mother, promising to visit again later, and then motioned Naruto to follow. Not knowing where to take the blonde, Sasuke decided to take him back to the Uchiha Compound. The two made a brisk pace on top of the rooftops, not wanting to deal with civilians. The duo landed in Sasuke's front yard.

"Um come in, I guess." Sasuke said as he realized that he never invited anyone over to his house before. Naruto glanced around the house, noticing that it was rather clean.

"I expected your house to be dirty." Naruto joked, returning to his usual self.

"Whatever dobe." Sasuke smirked as he led his teammate towards the living room. Sasuke made some tea for the both of them. "Okay dobe, talk." He told Naruto as he placed a teacup in front of the blonde. Naruto began scratching the back of his head in nervousness.

"Well I don't even know where to start." Naruto nervously chuckled. "I guess I'll start at the beginning. Do you remember the time I pranked the Uchiha Compound by painting graffiti all over the place?" The blonde asked. Sasuke began to think about a time where Naruto pranked his home. "We even met and began arguing with each other." Naruto said to jog the Uchiha's memory. It clicked instantly as Sasuke remembered the day the blonde annoyed him.

"Yeah I remember now. You were here to clean up the paint from your prank. What does this have to do with my mother?" Sasuke inquired, still not seeing any connection to the event and his mother. Naruto took a deep breath to prepare himself.

"Well after I cleaned the compound, Mikoto-san gave me some food. I wondered if she was trying to poison me as nobody was ever nice to me." Naruto began. Sasuke smiled at his mother's generosity before he frowned. The raven haired boy always wondered why the villagers hated the blonde as if he committed a grave crime against the village. From what he could see, Naruto was a competent shinobi (although he would never openly admit it). Besides his numerous pranks, the blonde never purposely caused anyone harm. Sasuke decided to ask later as the blonde continued speaking.

"She offered me a deal where she would train me. In exchange, I wouldn't prank the Uchiha Compound." Naruto said. Sasuke rose an eyebrow at this.

'_Kaa-san taught Naruto?' _Sasuke had never knew of this. His mother always wanted to train him and… Itachi but his father was against it. Naruto continued his retelling of the events on how he met Mikoto.

"I agreed to the deal and she began training me. She taught me so much stuff, like how to be a good shinobi. Mikoto-san soon became like a mother to me." Naruto remised sadly. Sasuke frowned as it seemed that Naruto was just as lonely as he was.

"I see." Sasuke said simply. It was hard to believe that his mother volunteered to train Naruto. "Thanks for telling me this." He added.

"I've tried to tell you earlier but you were such a douche at the academy." Naruto laughed. Sasuke had no counter argument for the accusation. The two boys remained silent as their teas had long gone cold. "Hey Sasuke." Naruto called to his teammate. "The person you want to kill is Itachi-nii, isn't it." Naruto stated.

Unlike the peaceful silence from earlier, this silence was tense as Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Never. Say. That. Name." Sasuke said shakenly in anger. The blonde boy was frowning as he stared at Sasuke.

"I don't know why Itachi-nii d-." Naruto wasn't able to finish as Sasuke had leapt across the table and held the blonde by his throat.

"Naruto I don't want to repeat myself. Never say that name again, especially in front of me." Sasuke threatened with his Sharingan active. The Uchiha threw Naruto across the room. The blonde began taking coughing to regain his breathing.

"Sasuke, you have to listen." Naruto pleaded.

"SHUT UP NARUTO!" The Uchiha screamed but Naruto didn't waver.

"There has to be a reason why Itachi-nii did it. You know him as well as I do. You can't possibly believe he did it for the sake of testing himself." Naruto yelled as he prepared for Sasuke to attack. Naruto couldn't follow as Sasuke was already upon him. Sasuke threw a right haymaker towards the blonde's gut. The whiskered boy was able to minimize the damage by stepping back but the force knocked the blonde through the glass doors.

Naruto's impact shattered the glass, crushing it into tiny pieces. Naruto got up on his feet quickly to avoid a heel kick from Sasuke. "Will you just listen to me?" Naruto yelled as he dodged a flurry of punches.

"That bastard killed my family! He ruined my life. I have to kill him to avenge my clan. You don't understand how it feels to lose your family in one night." Sasuke shouted as he kept up his attacks. Even with his Sharingan active, he was unable to react to Naruto's counter to his face. Sasuke skidded across the ground from Naruto's punch. Sasuke was pretty sure his cheek was going to swell up tomorrow.

"Don't think you're the only one who lost something!" Naruto yelled back, grabbing the other boy by his shirt. "Mikoto-san and Itachi-nii were as much as my family, as they were for you. I understand how you feel. I understand what it's like to lose your family in one night. At least you had the village's adoration. I had nothing!" Naruto ranted.

"Then why don't you want to kill him?" Sasuke asked. "If my mother was that important to you, then you should hate Itachi as much as I do!" He shouted back.

"Of course I hate him!" Naruto yelled back. Tears freely pouring out from the blonde's sockets. Naruto wiped the tears away and composed himself. "Still I want to know why he did it and I want to hear it directly from his mouth. Until then, I'm going to believe that Itachi-nii did it for a reason." Naruto said his piece.

"A reason!?" Sasuke said in bafflement. "He killed everybody, making me the last Uchiha. He relegated me to a life of loneliness." He retorted.

"Then why did he leave you alive?" Naruto countered. Sasuke tried to speak but Naruto cut him off. "If Itachi wanted to test himself, he could've killed his entire clan. If that's true, why did he leave you alive?" The blonde repeated. Sasuke sat there speechless. Of course he had wondered why he was left alive. It didn't make sense to keep him alive. "You were the one who chose the life of a loner. Plenty of people wanted to be your friends. Hell, I tried to be your friend but you refused." Naruto spat.

"He trapped me in a Genjutsu." Sasuke spoke softly, much to the confusion of Naruto. "He showed me how he killed every single clan member." His voice began raising in volume. "And then he told me that if I wanted to kill him, I would have to hate him. By hating him, I'll be strong enough to get my revenge." Sasuke yelled. Sasuke watched as Naruto's face morph into sadness.

"If you want to kill him, why are you listening to his advice?" Naruto asked simply. That single question shocked Sasuke to his core. Even though he didn't want to admit it, what his teammate said made sense. Why should he listen to the advice of a traitor? "It looks like you have some thinking to do. If you need someone to talk to, you can always come find me." Naruto offered. The blonde left, leaving the Uchiha to question himself.

Sasuke sat there on the gravel and wondered if what Naruto said was true. _'Why did Itachi kill the other clan members?' _Sasuke tried to think of something. _'Plus why did he leave me alive and tell me to get revenge?' _The Uchiha boy mused. There were just too many questions that he needed answered. Sasuke was left wondering what to do. _'I'm going to find Itachi and demand answers from him. Then I'll decide if I'll kill him or not. And no one is going to stop me, not even Naruto.' _Sasuke concluded as he went inside to grab an ice pack for his cheek.

**Reviews:**

**sparrowhawk13, raw666, buterflypus, S.R. 457, and Shigure Toshiro - **Thank you very much!

**No Vigilance - **Haha in that instance, Youth failed to power through.

**emilbootanimefreak - **Your long awaited Tenten is appearing next chapter and it's going to be hectic.

**superfanman217 - **Are you talking about Hinata being in the harem? Sadly she isn't going in the harem but she is still a vital character in this story.

**LongGhostStriker - **Super Man Hug! Haha. Lee definitely needed Gai to leave him be but oh well.

**Apedreitor - **Kakashi probably did a punishment where Gai couldn't challenge him for several months. That sounds like something Kakashi would do.

**Nin99 - **Thanks! I tend to write whenever inspiration strike me. I'll try to update faster but no promises. That's true about the Kawarimi but it could still be an overpowered jutsu.

**Illuminated - **Hmm an Ino punishment. Competition: Say Youth in every sentence whenever Gai or Lee is around. Punishment: Ino is forced to wear the green spandex suit.

**Extremacy - **Well that's a unique way to laugh lol.

**Alex2909 - **Haha glad you liked it.

**Waldo Santiago - **These chapters are slow paced but character development is crucial.

**YuNaru19 - **Naruto's stamina will be higher than Kakashi before the Chunin Exams arc. Thank you for the information.

**Euphonia - **Thank you for catching my error. I thought that all swords are zanpakuto but I was wrong. Read too much Bleach lol.

**MetallicMilitia - **I'm glad this story has a freshness to it lol. Thanks!

**kami god shinigami - **Sorry it was a mistake, I fixed it. Thank you for pointing it out.

**SSSra – **I'm debated on what type of summons I should use but so far toads are in the lead. Thanks for the review.

**candymanq – **I'm planning for that to happen so yes.

**s.k.f.f.f - **Lol he didn't have enough youth in him.


	12. Chapter 12

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 1/31/16.

**A.N. **

I've reached a huge milestone with this story! This story now has over 100K words as well as over 100K total views! Not to mention, this story almost has 1,000 followers! When I first started this story, I never thought it would be this popular. I want to thank all my readers for helping me reach this far. It's thanks to your encouragement that I've reached this far. As a gift, here's an extra-long chapter!

In other news, this is the last chapter with the different point of views. Starting next chapter, we'll be back to Naruto's. Thanks again for going along with my little writing experiment. Also thanks to everyone who voted on the poll. Samui won so she'll be getting extra screen time this chapter! Anyway no more thanks, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 12: The Arrivals, the Conflicted, and the Super Pervert**

***Day 11***

"Tenten it's time to wake up." The voice of her mother called out from behind the door. Tenten stirred within her sheets, trying to stay in the comfort of her bed. Unfortunately, she had things to do today. The weapon mistress drowsily pulled herself up and stretched her limbs. Tenten rubbed her eyes, hoping to get rid of the sleepiness. She reluctantly got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. The brunette slipped out of her purple pajamas and began her morning routine. Fifteen minutes later, Tenten stepped out of her room in her usual outfit.

"Good morning mom and dad." Tenten greeted her parents, who were sitting at the dining table. She gave them a kiss on the cheek before sitting to eat her own breakfast. Her breakfast consisted of an omelet, toast, and orange juice.

"Morning Ten, you got team training again today?" Kajiya asked as he sipped his black coffee. His daughter nodded since her mouth was full. After swallowing her food, she replied.

"Yeah but it should be ending soon. After all, the Chunin Exams are in five days." Tenten replied as she took a sip of her juice.

"Are you and your team ready?" Her father asked worryingly.

"I think we'll be able to handle whatever the exams throw at us. We had almost a year to refine our teamwork. The only thing I need to worry about is my own skills." She answered before continuing. "Speaking of the exams…" Tenten said as she began to look at her father. Kajiya caught the stare and knew what came next was inevitable. "Daddy I need new weapons for the exams." She pleaded with the **Koinu no Me no Jutsu**** (Puppy Eye Technique)**.

"I've already made them." Kajiya replied with a smirk. Tenten was flabbergasted that her dad already made her new weapons. "You didn't think I would let you participate in such a dangerous event without giving you brand new weapons, did you?"

"Thank you daddy." Tenten replied as she hugged him.

"She got you wrapped around her finger." Tera commented as she took a sip of her tea. Tenten giggled as she went back to her breakfast.

"Hey Tenten." Kajiya said, choosing to ignore his wife's remarks. "Can you tell Naruto to come by and pick up his wakizashi?" He asked as Tenten froze. Ever since the day she saw Naruto at the water hole, the kunoichi had been trying to avoid him. It hadn't been difficult as the blonde seemed occupied with other things. She was reluctant to tell her parents about the pain in her chest because she didn't want them to worry.

"Sure thing daddy." Tenten replied, hoping her parents didn't catch her fake cheerfulness. Unfortunately for her, they sensed that something was wrong.

"What's wrong dear?" Her mother asked in concern. "Did you and Naruto-kun get into a fight?" Tera inquired.

"No we didn't get into a fight." Tenten dismissed. "It's… complicated."

"Looks like I have to talk to Naruto about hurting my baby." Kajiya remarked.

"He didn't hurt me daddy. It's just…" Tenten paused, not knowing how to explain it. The young kunoichi glanced up at the clock. "Oh look, I need to go before I'm late." She said quickly as she shouted her goodbyes. Tenten made her way downstairs before heading to the training ground. The brunette jumped from roof to roof, not caring to slow down.

"Hey Tenten." A voice greeted her from the side.

'_Please don't let it be Naruto.' _She wished hopefully. When Tenten turned her head towards the direction of the voice, her eyes saw sun kissed blonde hair. _'Dammit.' _She thought as she turned to her best friend. "Hey Naruto." The girl replied, her voice quivering slightly. She went down to the streets and waited for him. The boy quirked his brow at the odd behavior as he stood beside her.

"Are you sick?" He asked worryingly as the duo began walking.

"No I'm fine, don't worry." She said to stop him from worrying.

"Ok." He replied skeptically. "Well do you want to hang out later?" He asked since she was the last person on his list. Tenten contemplated on what she should do. She decided it would be better to confront the feeling in her chest instead of shying away from it.

"Sure. I would love to hang out. It beats sparring with you." Tenten replied with a smile.

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted. "Wait, does everyone know that I wanted to spar with them?" He asked in shock. Tenten couldn't hold back her laughter.

"When you go around sparring with other Genins, word gets around." She explained.

"That's no fun. I was hoping to catch them by surprise." Naruto pouted before smiling again. "But I did have a great time hanging out with everyone." He confessed.

"That's great but I hope you haven't been neglecting your training." Tenten teased.

"No way! I trained individually after I trained with the others. I need to get strong so I can win the exams." The jinchuriki remarked confidently.

"You're going to have to beat me first." Tenten commented as they arrived to the grounds. The people there was Shino, Hinata, Neji, Sakura, and Team 10. Naruto went to talk to Shino. It was more of the blond talking and Shino chiming in every so often.

"Hey Tenten." Ino greeted as she came up to Tenten with an odd gleam in her eyes. Sakura wasn't far behind the blonde girl. Tenten never interacted with the younger kunoichi other than at team training.

"Hey Ino, Sakura." Tenten replied.

"Sooooo." The platinum blonde dragged out the word. "Is there something going on with you and Naruto?" She asked.

"No we're perfectly fine." The brunette answered, wondering if people knew that she was avoiding Naruto. Ino looked bewildered as Sakura began laughing.

"That's great Tenten." Sakura replied. "What Ino meant to say was; are you and Naruto dating?" The pinkette clarified. Tenten's cheeks brighten slightly as her heart began beating a little quicker.

"No. Naruto and I aren't dating." The weapon mistress replied quickly. For some reason, the words felt bitter as they left her mouth. "Why?" She asked before clarifying. "One of you interested in him?"

The two girls quickly denied the notion. Tenten frowned slightly at how fast the girls shot it down. "Naruto's a great teammate and friend but Sasuke-kun is the one for me." Sakura explained.

"Yeah I just can't see Naruto as a boyfriend material. I mean he's a great guy and everything. But I just can't see him that way." Ino confessed. "I did hear that he rejected Hinata in the past." The Yamanaka brought up.

"Ahem." Hinata coughed as she made her way to the girls. "Naruto didn't reject me. He told me that my feelings for him were based on an ideal. So I never got the chance to confess." She explained.

"That still counts as a rejection." Ino whispered but the Hyuuga heard her.

"Anyway." Hinata said, choosing to ignore the blonde. "I've heard that Naruto and Haku-san are dating, at least that's what the kids told me." She said, much to the shock of the other girls. Suddenly Tenten felt the same pain that she experienced the other day.

'_Again, what's going on?' _The bun haired kunoichi thought as she wondered what was wrong with her body.

"Really?" Ino shouted as she couldn't believe that she missed such a delicious scoop.

"Like I said, that's what the kids told me. They proclaimed that Naruto was dating Haku-neechan even though he denied it." Hinata repeated.

"I could believe it." Sakura said, shocking the girls again. "Our team went on a mission to Wave and it was Naruto that confronted Haku-san. Naruto's the reason why she and Zabuza-san is here in Konoha in the first place." She informed the girls. "Also during our stay in Wave, Naruto and Haku-san seemed pretty close." The rosette added.

The three girls began to talk amongst themselves but Tenten had long tuned them out. The weapon mistress had suspected Naruto's and Haku's relationship since she saw them at the water hole. It took the words of others for it to actually set it. She began imagining Naruto taking Haku out on dates. The two of them holding hands and kissing each other. Tenten's chest pounded with a vigor.

'_It hurts so much. I don't want to see Naruto with her!' _She screamed inwardly. Images of the blonde smiling at someone else frustrated her. _'Naruto should be with me!' _With that one thought, Tenten's world froze over. She couldn't believe what she had just thought. But no matter how much she tried to deny it, she now knew what the feeling in her chest was. _'I-I'm jealous of Haku.' _She thought, coming to a realization. _'But that means I like Naruto.' _Tenten concluded as she put a hand to her mouth.

"Tenten are you okay?" Hinata asked as she saw that Tenten looked unbelievably pale. The brunette didn't reply, which began worrying the girls. The boys noticed that something was wrong and came over.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, with the other boys behind him. Tenten sprang up from the sound of his voice, surprising everyone. They were all able to see how pale Tenten looked. "Tenten you're sick." The blonde said in worry as he rushed to his friend's side.

"No I'm fine." Tenten replied as she pushed him away from her. "I just need some rest. I'll be in the shade over there." She said as she made her way towards the tree. Naruto moved to carry her over to the tree but the brunette stopped him. "No stop. I could get there myself." She said but it sounded more like a shout. The kunoichi willed her body to the tree, ignoring the stares she was receiving. Tenten slid down on the tree trunk as she steadied her breath.

'_Great. Now I feel like an asshole for shouting at Naruto.' _The brunette berated herself for her earlier actions. In the corner of eye, she could see that Naruto was still watching her in worry. Her heart swelled, knowing that he cared so much for her. _'Stupid heart, this isn't time to be all happy.' _She inwardly yelled. Deciding to ignore Naruto's staring, she continued to steady her breathing as her heartbeat began returning to normal.

"I take it that you feel better." Neji's voice alerted her of his presence. Her teammate was leaned against the tree.

"I thought I said I was fine." Tenten said, not sparing a glance at him.

"I'm your teammate. It's only right that I'm worried about your well-being." Neji replied. Not getting a response, he continued. "Your issue pertains to Naruto." He stated, causing Tenten to turn and face the male Hyuuga. "Judging from that reaction, I'll assume that I'm correct." The black haired boy remarked. Tenten could only sigh as she leaned back against the tree. "You've been acting strange around him since we all started training together. I decided not to say anything because it isn't my business." He answered. Tenten had to give him credit for noticing.

"Yeah but it should be fine now though." She replied hopefully. Neji sat down on the ground next to her.

"It's okay to admit your feelings." He suggested. Tenten scoffed at his statement.

"This is coming from a guy who used to be stuck up and didn't care about other people's feelings." She replied.

"That's true. As Naruto would say, I was a world class prick with a stick up his ass." Neji admitted. This caused Tenten to laugh as that would be something Naruto would say. After she calmed down, the kunoichi apologized. "There's no need to apologize Tenten. It's something I've reflected on. It was thanks to Naruto that I've changed. The first step is always acceptance." He advised.

Tenten could see his happy expression as he talked. "Who are you and where did you take Neji?" The brunette said as she eyed him suspiciously. Neji quickly returned to his stoic face, causing her to laugh again. "Thanks Neji." She said softly after her laughing died down.

"It's no problem. Now get better before the two idiots give you one of their hugs." He remarked as Gai and Lee were sprinting towards them.

"TENTEN!" The duo jumped towards the lone kunoichi of Team 9. The brunette skillfully dodged, making them go head first into the tree trunk.

"I came as soon as I heard." Lee said as he pulled his head from the tree. He was still wearing the clothes her father made for him. She wished that he stayed in that outfit instead of the green spandex. Lee began checking Tenten's body for injuries. "No external injuries Gai-sensei." Lee reported with a salute. Gai pulled his head free from the tree, splinters decorating his bowl head.

"How are you youthful Tenten?" Gai asked.

"I'm doing better now Gai-sensei, Lee. Sorry for worrying you." She bowed to her team.

"It's fine Tenten. I'm glad that you're ok." Gai said as he flashed his nice guy pose but the blood dripping from his head ruined it. "Lee."

"Hai Gai-sensei." Lee straighten up.

"Get me a medic." Gai said as he began feeling light headed.

"Sheesh Gai, you really overdue it sometimes." Kakashi commented as he caught Gai. "Sakura, a little help please." Kakashi called to his student. Sakura came over and began using medical Ninjutsu on bushy brow Jonin.

"Yosh! I'm once again 110%!" Gai shouted as Lee celebrated his recovery.

"Anyway we're meeting up." Kakashi said as he ignored them. The group made their way to the rest, who were patiently waiting.

"Tenten are you okay?" Naruto asked. She felt guilty that she was making him worried.

"Yeah I'm fine Naruto. We can talk later, you don't want to keep the others waiting." She replied. The brunette could see that Naruto wanted to talk now but he relented. The two made their way towards everyone else and sat down on the grass.

"Okay now that everyone is here." Asuma said as he put away his cigarettes, most likely due to the glare he was receiving from Kurenai. "We have an announcement to make."

"We'll no longer be holding team training." Kurenai announced, much to the Genins' shock. "The reason for this is because we want you to devote the rest of your time on your individual skills."

"You've trained and worked together as a unit and it would only help you in the upcoming exams. Your flames of youth have since grown in size but it's now up to you to maintain it." Gai said as his teeth flashed, blinding everyone except Lee.

"You should be proud of what you've achieved so far. You can still come to us for help if you wish. Just remember not to regret anything and do your best in the upcoming exams." Kakashi advised.

"As expected of my eternal rival! That was so hip and cool!" Gai shouted as he vowed to be hipper and cooler than Kakashi. The Copy-Nin fled before Gai could issue him another challenge. "Wait my eternal rival!" Gai gave pursuit. The others began slowly leaving to go about their own business.

Neji and Hinata had chosen to return to the Hyuuga Compound. Kurenai left with Asuma following shortly after. Shino bid his farewells before heading home. Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru decided to eat lunch together. Lee went off to train once more. Ino and Sakura left to receive training from Shizune and Tsunade respectively while also going to see Haku. That left only her, Naruto and Sasuke at the training ground.

The two boys were talking to each other so Tenten didn't want to interrupt. She decided to sit at the nearby bench to figure out her thoughts. She honestly didn't know how she felt about Naruto. _'Ok I admit that I'm jealous of Haku's relationship with Naruto. But do I really like him?' _The brunette mused as she looked at her best friend.

Tenten soaked in his features as he conversed with Sasuke. She had never noticed before, but Naruto was one of the taller boys around their age. _'Good thing he doesn't eat just ramen anymore.' _She thought as she remembered the day they met. He was so skinny that Tenten decided to give him her precious snacks. They slowly became friends after that as Naruto had a very easy going personality. She then began admiring his face and the thing that stuck out the most was his sapphire eyes. _'He really is handsome.'_ Tenten blushed at her train of thought, not noticing the blonde coming up to her.

"You ready Tenten?" Naruto asked as he waved his hand in front of the dazed girl.

"Huh?" She replied. "I mean I'm ready." The brunette said quickly as she got up from the bench.

"So where do you want to go?" Naruto asked as they left the field. Tenten began thinking on what to do.

'_Wait isn't this like a date?' _She flushed at the thought before quickly shaking her head free of the thoughts. _'You're not turning into one of those fan girls. You're a kunoichi for god sakes!' _Tenten reminded herself. "How about we go eat at a sushi restaurant?" She suggested as sushi was her favorite food.

"Can we choose somewhere else like Ichiraku's or Akimichi's?" Naruto proposed instead. Tenten frowned as he always recommended those two places when they hung out. They were fine restaurants but she wanted to eat something different.

"Come on please." She said, tugging his sleeve to make him see her **Puppy Eye no Jutsu. **She could see him sweating, trying not to fall for her technique.

"Dang it fine." Naruto relented under the pressure. He hated when someone used that jutsu against him. "Can we stop by my place real quick?" The blonde asked. "If Shin or Sai is back, I want to tell them I'll be a little late." He explained. Tenten naturally agreed as she knew that the three boys were like brothers. As they walked, the brunette couldn't help but once again notice that the villagers were staring at them.

Well they were mainly glaring at Naruto and looking at her. She always noticed this when they walked in the village. When she questioned him about it, he said it was because of his pranks. Tenten accepted his word at the time but it was becoming obvious that they hated Naruto for something other than his pranks. She glanced at Naruto, who seemed to not mind the glares. _'I don't get it. Why would anyone hate Naruto?'_

Of course once they got into the red light district, the people didn't care about them. They weaved through the street but no one paid them a passing glance. _'Maybe this is why Naruto prefers to live here.' _She mused at they arrived at the blonde's apartment.

"I'll only be a few minutes." Naruto said as he went upstairs to his apartment. Tenten stood there as she patiently waited for her friend. The kunoichi saw scantily dressed woman calling for men who walked by. Drunkards littered the streets, being too intoxicated to walk. Tenten noticed someone that seemed out of place. A tan girl with mint green hair was standing in the streets as if she was lost. Attached to her hair was an orange clip, the same color as her eyes. The girl's attire consisted of a white shirt that showed her midriff, a matching skirt, and long white arm warmers. Tenten noticed that the girl was carrying a huge red cylinder bag and that she had a Takigakure hitai-ate strapped to her bicep. Deciding to help the poor foreign kunoichi, the brunette approached her.

"Hello, are you lost?" The brunette girl asked as she stood in front of the other girl. The shorter girl looked up at Tenten with a face full of hope.

"Ah yes. My teammate said that our hotel was around here." The girl replied.

"Do you know the name of the hotel?" Tenten asked, knowing that the hotels in the red light district weren't exactly used for staying.

"It's called the Golden Leaf." The Takigakure kunoichi answered. Tenten instantly knew what had happened.

"It looks like your teammate decided to play a prank on you. The Golden Leaf is across town." Tenten informed the poor girl. The younger girl scowled and began mumbling curses. "If you want, I could take you there once my friend comes out." Tenten proposed. The younger girl's bad mood instantly vanished as a wide grin replaced her frown.

"Thank you so much kunoichi-san." The Takigakure kunoichi thanked and tried to hug Tenten. The Konoha kunoichi evaded, thinking it was attack. "Oh I'm sorry. No one has been that nice to me before so I wanted to hug you." The girl explained, slightly embarrassed by her actions.

"It's okay. Hugs are for people you know really well. My name is Higarashi Tenten." Tenten introduced herself as the she held out her hand. The mint haired girl looked at Tenten's hand, puzzled by the action. "You're supposed to say your name and shake my hand." The brunette reminded. The girl's eyes lit up in excitement.

"I'm Fu." The now identified Fu, said brightly as she vigorously shook Tenten's hand.

'_If I didn't know Gai-sensei and Lee, her bright personality would've took me by surprise.' _Tenten mused as Naruto came out. "Over here Naruto." She called him. The male came over, puzzled by the appearance of Fu. "Naruto, this is Fu." Tenten told the blonde. "Fu, this is my best friend Naruto." She introduced them. "Naruto, Fu got lost on her way to her hotel. Can we take her there?" The brunette asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Oh sure that's fine." He replied brightly.

'_Another person with a bright personality.' _Tenten thought to herself.

"Like Tenten said, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. It's nice to meet you." Naruto reintroduced himself as he held out his hand. Fu continued to stare at him as if she saw a ghost.

"You're Nine." Fu shakenly stated as she pointed to Naruto. Tenten's was instantly confused by the statement.

'_Naruto isn't that young. He looks like a teenager more than a budding kid.'_ Tenten thought as she turned to Naruto. She saw that Naruto was confused as well before his face suddenly morphed into a serious expression as if his mind registered what Fu said. _'What the heck?' _She thought in shock. She had rarely seen Naruto that serious outside of training. Fu was on him before Tenten could even react.

"I've always been looking for someone like me." Fu said as she hugged Naruto. The blonde boy wrapped his arms around the younger girl as she began openly sobbing. Tenten was lost at the sudden turn of events.

'_I'm so confused right now.'_ The brunette thought as her brain turned to mush. The Konoha kunoichi saw that Naruto was whispering something into Fu's ear. Tenten couldn't hear what he was saying but Fu replied.

"I'm Seven." She said clearly enough for Tenten to hear. Naruto nodded before whispering more things. Fu nodded as she slowly let go of Naruto as if he was going to disappear. "Sorry about that." Fu said, quickly wiping the tears away. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you my name. My name is Fu." The mint haired girl introduced herself.

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Tenten finally asked. Fu turned to Naruto, who slowly shook his head.

"It's nothing Tenten-chan. Can you please direct me to the Golden Leaf?" Fu asked happily as if the events from earlier had never transpired. Tenten looked at the two suspiciously, feeling out of the loop. She hadn't even registered that Fu had attached a suffix to her name.

"Sure." The brunette replied, not taking her eyes off the other two. Naruto had seemed to regain his bearings as he was back to his normal self. The trio began their walk to the Golden Leaf. Tenten couldn't take it any longer and pulled Naruto over to her. "What was that all about?" She inquired.

"I'll tell you later." He replied before mumbling something at the end of it.

"Okay, you promise?" Tenten asked, holding him to it. She knew how seriously he took his promises.

"I promise dattebayo." Naruto replied, his verbal tick appearing.

"Hey Naruto-kun." Fu said as she stepped to the other side of Naruto. Tenten wondered where the suffix came from. "Are you going to be in the Chunin Exams?"

"Yep, Tenten and I are participating. I take it that you are as well." Naruto answered with a smile.

"You bet! This is the first time I've been out of the village." The mint haired girl replied ecstatically.

"You didn't leave your village for missions?" Tenten asked. It was strange to the brunette that Fu had never left her village before. The Taki kunoichi was unsure how to answer the question. Luckily for her, Naruto changed the topic.

"You must be pretty strong to participate when you're so young." The blonde commented.

"Of course I am!" She replied with confidence. "I'm going to win the whole thing." Fu boldly proclaimed. Both Konoha shinobis' raised their eyebrows at the sureness.

"So you think you can beat me and Naruto." Tenten replied, curious on how strong this girl was.

"Um… yes." Fu answered nervously since she was put on the spot.

"I'm starting to get excited. I get to test myself against strong opponents." Naruto commented as he wondered what other shinobi were coming.

"Same here. If we face each other, you better not hold back." Tenten said.

"Of course not. I can't wait to fight you as well. You're one of the strongest people I know." He replied. Tenten blushed at the compliment.

"Are you two dating?" Fu asked, causing both teens to falter.

"No we aren't dating." Tenten responded.

"What she said." Naruto agreed. The brunette didn't like the fact that he agreed with her.

'_He just agreed like normal. Why am I irritated?_' Tenten groaned._ 'I need to talk to somebody!' _The weapon mistress decided.

"Oh I'm sorry. You guys seem really close." Fu apologized.

"It's okay Fu. Tenten and I have been friends for a long time." Naruto explained as they arrived at the Golden Leaf. Fu looked at the ground for a few seconds before she looked up.

"Can I be your friend as well?" Fu asked them quickly. Naruto and Tenten looked at each other before smiling.

"We're already friends Fu-chan." Tenten replied, much to Fu's delight. The younger kunoichi jumped at them, pulling them into a hug.

"Thank you so much! You guys are my first friends." Fu said as she let them go. Tenten inwardly frowned at the statement. "Oh it's Shibuki." The mint haired girl said as Tenten saw a long dark brown haired boy. His hair was tied in a ponytail with the Takigakure hitai-ate serving as the tie. Shibuki wore a green shirt with a grey shoulder pad on his left shoulder and grey pants as the bottom. Shibuki caught sight of Fu and came over.

"You okay Fu?" Shibuki asked worryingly as he looked her over.

"I'm fine Shibuki. My friends took me here." Fu replied as she pointed to Naruto and Tenten.

"Oh thank you for bring her here. It seems my teammate decided to pull a prank on Fu." Shibuki explained. "Oh where are my manners? I'm Shibuki of Takigakure." The foreign shinobi introduced himself. Naruto and Tenten also introduced themselves. "We should head in Fu." He told the mint haired girl. "Once again, thank you for helping Fu." Shibuki bowed before heading into the hotel.

"Bye guys, I'll see you at the exams." Fu yelled as she followed after Fu. Once the mint haired girl disappeared into the building, Tenten relaxed herself.

"She's a nice girl." Tenten commented to which Naruto nodded.

"Hey Tenten, can you meet me at the Hokage Monument?" Naruto asked. He disappeared in a puff of smokebefore she got the chance to reply.

"I didn't even answer yet." She grumbled. "I've got to learn that technique one of these days." Tenten said as she started walking. The trip didn't take that long since the monument was nearby. She saw that Naruto had situated himself on the Yondaime's head. "I'm here." The brunette said as she sat down on the head as well. Naruto didn't react to her presence as they continued to sit in silence. "So besides the view, why are we here?" Tenten asked impatiently, wondering why her best friend was so quiet.

Naruto sighed before turning to face her. Tenten was able to see the confliction in his eyes. "Tenten I've been hiding secrets from you." He finally spoke.

"Um okay..." Tenten replied. "We're shinobi, we're supposed to have a few secrets." The kunoichi said as she wondered why Naruto was acting like this.

"That's true but this is an S-Class secret. You have to promise not to tell anyone about this." He said, much to her shock.

'_It can't be that big of a secret, right?' _She wondered to herself. The brunette slowly nodded her head.

"You have a right to know this secret. I should've told you it earlier but I was afraid on how you'll react." The blonde said. Tenten was now intrigued, wondered what this big secret was. "Do you know what happened 13 years ago?" Naruto asked. The brunette quirked an eyebrow but nonetheless she answered.

"The Kyuubi came and destroyed our village. The Yondaime saved us by killing the Kyuubi but he died as well." Tenten recited the history passage that everyone in the village knew.

"That's a lie. The Yondaime wasn't able to kill the Kyuubi because it's impossible to kill a chakra beast." Naruto revealed, much to Tenten's disbelief. "The Yondaime used his life to seal the Kyuubi inside a baby."

"I've never heard about this before." She replied.

"The old ma- I mean the Sandaime, made a law to prevent anyone from talking about it and to not tell the younger generation. The punishment for revealing the secret was death." Naruto told her. Tenten couldn't believe her ears as she tried to process what she heard.

"How do you know this?" Tenten inquired. "And why are you allowed to reveal the secret?" She asked. Naruto remained silent as the kunoichi continued to think about what she just heard. The dots were beginning to connect in her head. _'13 years ago means… the baby is my age." _Her thoughts ceased. Tenten's eyes went wide as she now understood what was going on.

"You're the baby." She concluded as she put a hand in front of her mouth. The Kyuubi that was responsible for the death of many people, including her parents, was sealed inside of her best friend. "That's not possible." She denied, despite all the evidence. All the glares Naruto received was because he housed the Kyuubi. Only he was able to reveal the secret without fear of death.

"It is and-" Tenten had to stop him.

"Wait please!" She shouted. "I need time to think about this. This is just too much at one time. I'm so confused." The brunette said panicky. "Sorry Naruto but I need to head home." Tenten said as she left the Hokage Monument. If she had turned around, she would had saw Naruto's dejected expression. Tenten raced home, hoping to find her parents. The kunoichi stormed into the store, scaring her parents with her sudden appearance.

"Mom, Dad I need to talk to you now!" She said loudly.

"Calm down honey. Can't it wait until closing time?" Tera asked her.

"I need to…" She stopped since it was an S-Class secret. "I need to talk about Naruto's _big_ problem." Tenten replied. Her parents' eyes went wide as they registered what she meant. Tera pulled her daughter up the stairs, situating themselves in the living room. Kajiya came in shortly after closing the shop, breathing frantically as he sat down.

"Who told you?" Her father asked seriously. She felt chills run down her spine as she never heard her father talk like this.

"N-Naruto did." Tenten stuttered. The atmosphere returned to normal as soon as she answered. Both parents sighed in relief.

"You scared us to death, Tenten." Tera said as she tried to settle her beating heart.

"So it's true." The daughter replied as she got the confirmation she sought for. Both parents looked at her with worry.

"How do you feel honey?" Her mother asked as she rubbed Tenten's back as a way to soothe the teen.

"Honestly I don't know how I should feel right now." Tenten spoke honestly. "I feel like everything I know is a lie." She added.

"You're a kunoichi, your career revolves around lies." Her dad reminded. Tenten smiled lightly, reminded of herself from earlier.

"So do you guys hate Naruto?" Tenten asked. The two parents looked at each other briefly. Her father was the one to answer.

"We did at first." He said, much to his daughter's shock. "We didn't outright hate him like the rest of the villagers but we also never went out of our way to help him. It was only when Mikoto-san came here with him that we regretted that decision." Kajiya confessed.

"When we saw his body, we knew that we couldn't hate him for something he had no control over." Tera added as she remembered Naruto's skin and bone body. There was silence as Tenten took in the information.

"Thanks mom and dad." Tenten finally said.

"So what's your opinion on Naruto now that you know his secret?" Kajiya asked, wondering his daughter's thoughts.

"I'm mad at myself for not noticing earlier. There were so many signs but I chose to mostly ignore them." The teen confessed. Her parents smiled at her answer.

"I'm glad. I would hate it if your friendship ended because of this." Kajiya admitted. He would had been torn to choose between them because he treated Naruto like a son. Tera had similar thoughts as her husband.

"I'm happy too. Now Naruto-kun is one step closer to being my son-in-law." Tera said happily. Tenten sputtered as she couldn't believe what her mother said.

"What are you talking about mom!?" Tenten shouted with a blush on her cheeks.

"Oh Tenten." Tera said with a sigh. "Out of all the boys you hang out with, I approve of Naruto-kun the most. Neji-kun is too polite and stoic, although he has been better recently. Still there's the matter with the fact that he's part of a clan. Lee-kun is…" Tera paused. "He's a special kind of individual. Honestly those spandex are just as bad as Naruto's old jumpsuit." She shuddered. "Naruto, on the other hand, is a very respectable young man. Now that you know his secret, there's nothing standing between the two of you." Her mother admitted as she dreamt of the day that her daughter got married.

"I agree with your mother. I know Naruto will treat you right and he has the skills to protect you. I already gave him my blessings to court you." Kajiya confessed. The daughter and mother were shocked by the words of the lone male of the household. Tenten couldn't suppress the blush from appearing.

"N-Naruto and I are only friends!" Tenten stuttered out.

"That's a shame." Tera said as she placed a hand on her cheek. "It looks like Naruto-kun is going to date Haku-chan." She teased to test her daughter's reaction.

"They aren't dating!" The weapon mistress yelled. "And how do you know Haku?" Tenten asked, huffing from her constant shouting.

"Oh Haku-chan came by to get some clothing from here since Naruto-kun recommended our place to her. While I was doing her measurements, we talk about how life was here. I could hear how highly she thought of Naruto-kun for bringing her and her mentor here. She's a pleasant young lady, not to mention, quite beautiful. It shouldn't be long until they start dating each other." Tera guessed. The brunette kunoichi put her head down, not believing what she just heard.

"Alright honey, stop teasing our daughter." Kajiya reprimanded. "Whether she likes Naruto or not is her decision." He said. Tenten was glad that her father was on her side. "Still it would be a shame." He added, frowning slightly. The daughter faulted at her father's words.

"Ok that's enough teasing now." This time, Tera chided her husband. "Whomever you choose to date, make sure you honestly like him." Her mother advised. The daughter nodded at the advice. Tenten decided to ask her mother for advice.

"Ok let's say hypothetically, I do start to fall in love with Naruto." Tenten started, not looking at her parents. "How do I approach him? Hypothetically of course." The girl tried not to reveal that she was already beginning to develop feelings for the blonde.

"Just try your best honey. Love hits us when we least expect it." Her mother replied as she held her husband's hand.

'_No kidding.'_ Tenten thought as it did hit her out of nowhere. "Okay, well I had a long day. I'm going to bed." The bun haired girl told her parents. She went into her room, closing the door behind her. Changing into her pajamas, Tenten laid in bed. Her thoughts were mainly about her blonde best friend. _'This is such a weird feeling._' The brunette thought as she hugged her body pillow. _'First things first. I need to talk to Naruto about his secret. Then I'll try to see who this Haku is.' _Tenten planned her objectives for the next day before drifting off into sleep.

***Day 12* **

Haku was walking towards Tsunade's estate for her daily training with Tsunade. She was dressed in her pink kimono. The streets were quiet as it was still quite early in the morning. When she had first informed Zabuza of the apprenticeship, she expected him to be against it. Surprisingly, he was for it as he wasn't able to properly teach her how to use the Kubikiriboncho. The sword was too heavy, requiring her to wield it with two hands. This greatly hindered her speed, her main asset.

It had been a little over a week since she began receiving tutelage from the Sannin. Most of the time, the Senju was too tired from her job at the hospital or too hungover to actually teach her. Haku was instructed to read several medical books instead. Shizune would regularly quiz her on different types of injuries and the best way to heal the injury. The only time she would practice a medical technique was when Sakura, Ino, or Hinata stopped by. This was because Tsunade wanted her to be prepared for anything, not just simply healing wounds.

Speaking of the three kunoichi, Haku had been seeing them quite frequently. They would ask her questions about her life as a missing-nin and how she liked Konohagakure. But for some reason, the conversation always ended up on Naruto. The girls would regularly ask about the extent of Haku's and the blonde's relationship. The weird thing was that they didn't believe it when she answered that they were friends.

Haku ended her musing when she saw Naruto in front of Tsunade's gate. "Naruto, what are you doing here so early?" She asked. This was the first time she had seen the blonde since the time at the water hole.

"Oh Haku. I was looking for you." He said as he turned to face her. The ice user quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you need from me Naruto?" Haku inquired.

"I just need to talk to you about something." He replied. "In private, if possible." Naruto added.

"Okay. We can go talk in the back. Right now, Tsunade-sama should still be sleeping and Shizune-san has a shift at the hospital." Haku replied as she opened the gate. Normally she wasn't allowed to invite people into the compound but Tsunade allowed Naruto and the kids to come by at any time. The two friends went to check on Tsunade.

The Sannin was sprawled all over her bed while clutching onto a sake bottle as if it was a body pillow. Naruto and Haku snickered at the sight and left before they woke her up. The black haired girl went into the kitchen to make some tea for her and Naruto. The boy decided to wait on the porch outside. Haku wondered what the blonde wanted to talk about. She grabbed the tray with the two cups of tea as she made her way outside. Haku proceeded to hand Naruto a cup.

"Thanks Haku." He thanked her as she sat down next to him. The two teens silently enjoyed their teas as they basked in the morning sun. The training med-nin waited for him to speak. "So yesterday…" Naruto began. "I told one of my best friends about my tenant." He continued.

"Is it someone I've met before?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, let me tell you about my best friends first." Naruto replied brightly. "Do you remember the time you and Zabuza came with us to the training grounds?" He asked to which she nodded. "Among the group of Genins are my best friends: Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, and Higarashi Tenten. Shino's the tall silent one, who has the jacket that covers the lower part of his face and a pair of black shades. He's like me because people don't like us for things that we contain in our bodies. In his case, it's insects." Naruto described the kikaichu user. Haku nodded but she didn't remembered Shino.

"Shikamaru's around my height and he styles his hair like a pineapple. He's really lazy but he's actually a genius with a 200 IQ. Shika and I really get along and he was one of the first people to openly defend me against bullies." Naruto said with pride. She remembered Shikamaru since he had looked at her that day but simply shrugged. The Nara boy had also gained a point in Haku's book for helping out Naruto.

"Tenten's the first friend that I ever made. She's the one with the pink qipao and her hair styled as buns. Tenten's really outgoing and really good with Bukijutsu. She has always been at my side since we became friends a couple of years ago. Her parents are also really nice to me." Naruto said to Haku. Haku remembered the brunette because she was admired Zabuza's sword.

"Anyway, the first people I told my secret to was Shino and Shikamaru. I trusted that they would accept me as I am and they did. You were the next person I told." He informed her. "I never told Tenten because I was scared. Although I trust her completely, I was afraid that our friendship would end. Tenten was an orphan because the Kyuubi had killed her parents when it attacked. I just kept thinking that she would hate me as soon as I told her the truth. Yesterday I finally gathered the courage to tell her because I believed she deserved to know. After I revealed the truth, she had left saying she was too confused." He finished.

"You think she hates you." Haku stated after coming to her own conclusions. Naruto nodded as he looked at his tea cup. "Naruto look at me please." She asked, to which the boy complied. "I don't know this Tenten person well but from what you told me, she's a trustworthy person. I think she simply needed time to process all the information." Haku advised her blonde friend.

"You think so?" Naruto asked a little more cheeringly.

"I believe so." She smiled at him. Naruto hugged Haku with all of his might. The med-nin in training blushed from the contact. Although Haku still wasn't used to physical contact, she relaxed in his warmth. For some reason, she felt safe within his arms. Unfortunately, he pulled away from her.

"Thank you so much Haku." He thanked her. "I'm going to find Tenten and talk to her." Naruto told her as he got up.

"Good luck Naruto." Haku said as she wished him the best of luck.

"Thanks again Haku. I'll treat you when I come back." He shouted as he left the estate. Haku took a sip of her tea before sighing. She relaxed in the sun, glad that she was able to help her friend. The ice user began thinking of the blonde and how much he impacted her life despite them meeting only a couple of weeks ago. Naruto had given her friendship and a sanctuary, two things that she never had before. Despite herself, Haku was beginning to question their relationship.

Ino's and Sakura's questions made Haku wonder if she was anything more than just his friend. _'It's simply Naruto's nature to help people.' _She tried to convince herself. _'If Naruto did in fact like me as more than a friend, what would I do?' _The ice user mused. Being on the run constantly, her interactions with boys were severely limited. Until recently, the only person she was close to was Zabuza. She wished things would stay the same between Naruto and her. Her musing was cut short as she heard someone ring the doorbell. Haku got up to answer the door since she knew her teacher was too hungover to. Haku opened the door to see a bun haired girl.

"Oh I was expecting Tsunade-sama." Tenten said. "Oh I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself. My name is Higarashi Tenten. I believe you're the rumored Haku-san." The fellow kunoichi said as she introduced herself.

"Hello Higarashi-san. My name is Yuki Haku and I've heard a lot of things about you as well." Haku replied.

"Oh you can call me Tenten. No need to be formal." The brunette said as she waved her hand in the air.

"You can also call me Haku as well, Tenten." Haku said, finding it amusing how the conversation was similar to the one she had when she first met Naruto. "May I ask what business you have here?" The ice user inquired.

"Oh I'm actually looking for Naruto. I couldn't find him at his apartment or his usual training grounds so I thought he would be here." Tenten explained as she looked around.

"I'm afraid you have just missed him. Naruto was just here before he went out looking for you." Haku answered.

"Ah man. I can't believe I missed him on the way here." The brunette groaned.

"Naruto says he'll be back later. As much as I would like to invite you inside to wait, I don't have the authority to do so." Haku informed regrettably. She had wanted to talk with the other girl since Tenten was one of Naruto's best friends.

"Oh Tenten-chan, Haku-chan. What are you doing standing out here?" Shizune asked, returning from her shift. "Come in. There's no point standing out here." The black haired medic said as she gestured for the girls to go inside.

"Looks like that solved our problem." Tenten commented as the two younger kunoichi shared a brief laugh before heading inside.

*Yawn* "You girls can do whatever as long as you aren't too loud. I trust you two enough that I know you won't cause a mess." Shizune told them. "Anyway I need a nap." She remarked, dragging her body into her room.

"Would you like some tea?" Haku asked as she went to pick up the two cups out on the porch.

"Yes, thank you." The brunette replied as Haku got out a new tea cup. Handing the cup to Tenten, Haku sat down on the chair opposite of the brunette. Awkward silence followed as the two girls didn't know what to say to the other.

"So how do you like it here?" Tenten asked, hoping to strike a conversation.

"It's nice here. Although it's a tad warmer than I'm used to. I recently had to buy new outfits because the heat was getting to me." Haku answered. Although she had brought new outfits, she still wore her old clothes because they were more comfortable.

"Yeah my mother told me that you came by the store." Tenten commented.

"Oh." The black haired girl said in realization. "No wonder your surname sounded familiar." Haku replied as she knew that she heard the name somewhere before. _'It also explains why Naruto recommended the store to me.'_ She thought. "You have very nice parents." Haku said as she remembered the friendly service she received.

"Yeah I got lucky that they were the ones that adopted me." The brunette said as she took a sip of the tea.

"So you were an orphan as well." Haku said, realizing that she and Tenten had more similarities than just being friends with Naruto.

"Yeah my parents died during the Kyuubi attack." The brunette informed. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your parents?" Tenten asked, not wanting to overstep her boundaries.

"I'm sorry Tenten. I don't want to tell people about my past unless I know them very well." Haku declined.

"There's no need to apologize. I was the one who asked." Tenten replied frantically. "Perhaps you could tell me when we become closer friends?" The bun haired girl speculated. Haku smiled at the girl sitting across from her.

"Yes I would very much like that Tenten." The ice user said. The two girls smiled at each other as they felt that they were bonding. The atmosphere was ruined by a loud groan.

"Ugh. Haku, water." Tsunade pleaded as she applied medical Ninjutsu to her forehead to lessen the pounding. Haku got up from her position to grab her master a cup of water. Tsunade chugged down the soothing liquid as soon as her hand touched the cup. "Ah. That's better." The Sannin exhaled as she noticed Tenten. "Oh Ten-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Hello Tsunade-sama. I came looking for Naruto." Tenten replied. Tsunade was about to reply that her godson wasn't here, when Naruto walked in.

"I can't seem to find her anywhere Haku." The blonde sighed when he noticed Tenten sitting on the sofa. "Tenten, there you are!" He practically shouted, much to the ire of Tsunade. A loud stomp echoed throughout the house. The group turned to see Shizune walking out of her room and towards Naruto. The black haired medic lifted him up by his jacket.

"Naruto, people are trying to sleep. Please keep your voice down or you'll be the test subject for my new poisons." Shizune said in a sickly sweet voice that sent shivers down everyone's back. Naruto feverishly nodded, scared for his very life. "Good. I hope it stays this quiet." Shizune commented as she went back to bed.

"Baa-chan, do you have a silence seal?" Naruto whispered, to which the older blonde nodded. Tsunade activated the seal, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.

"See! That's why I don't mess with Shizune." Tsunade commented. Haku greatly agreed with her master, now that she experienced Shizune's threat. "Anyway, why did you want a silence seal Naru-chan? We could've went somewhere else." The godmother asked.

"I'll explain in a bit but first..." Naruto replied before walking towards Tenten. "So are you okay with me having 'it' inside of me?" The jinchūriki asked nervously while looking at the ground. Haku could hear Tsunade gasp at what her godson had said.

"Of course I am." Tenten said, causing Naruto to look up. "I needed some time to think after you told me. I mean it's just hard to believe that everything that you've been told was a lie." She answered. "I don't care if you have the Kyuubi inside of you. To me, you're Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage and my best friend." The brunette smiled brightly. Naruto couldn't keep the grin off his face as he hugged Tenten. Haku noticed that Tenten blushed at the contact.

'_I'm glad that Naruto and Tenten got past this. But..." _Haku thought as a foreign feeling enveloped in her chest. She tried her best to identify the symptom but it escaped her knowledge. The young med-nin didn't notice that Tsunade was watching her.

"Alright." Naruto said as he released the hug. "I have something I want to confirm with baa-chan. If it's true, I have another secret to tell Haku and Tenten." Naruto informed, shocking both girls.

"Naruto, you don't need to tell me the secret. I'm content with being by your side." Haku replied. She knew that blonde didn't want to keep anymore secrets from them but she didn't need to hear it. To her, Naruto would be the same, regardless of what he revealed.

"Same here." Tenten agreed. "If it's anything like the secret you told me yesterday, I don't want to make you feel obligated to tell me. It's okay to keep secrets. After all, we're shinobi." The brunette added.

"Well, if that's what you guys prefer." Naruto replied with a shrug before a hand touched his shoulder.

"Hold on Naru-chan. Just because they don't want to know, doesn't mean I don't." Tsunade said. "Girls please wait outside for us." The blonde Sannin ordered. Tenten and Haku promptly left the home to give the blondes their privacy.

"Great, now I'm curious." Tenten commented as soon as they were outside. Haku had to chuckle at the brunette. "Come on. Don't tell me you aren't the least bit curious?" The weapon mistress asked in disbelief.

"I admit that I'm a little interested. But I'm pretty sure whatever the secret is, it won't change the way I feel about Naruto." Haku replied with confidence. Tenten was in awe at the other girl's words.

"Haku, to be honest, I also came here to meet you." The brunette revealed, getting Haku's attention. The weapon mistress fidgeted, trying to gather the courage to ask her question. "I wanted to know how you feel about Naruto." She said evenly.

"Naruto and I are friends." Haku answered the question, like she did the others.

"Really?" Tenten asked, trying to remain calm. "That's good." The bun haired girl whispered. Haku was able to catch the slight relief in her words. It bothered her that Tenten was glad. The house door opened to reveal a grinning Naruto and a puffy eyed Tsunade. It seems her master had just got done crying.

"Okay let's go get something to eat." Naruto proposed as he marched forward. Haku was able to spot a wet spot on his blue shirt. Connecting the dots, Haku decided not to mention anything.

"You kids go have fun." Tsunade said, trying to sound calm. The Sannin walked back into her home after seeing them off.

"What was that Naruto?" Tenten inquired.

"It's nothing. Everything is fine now." Naruto replied simply. "Can we go eat at Ichiraku's instead of the sushi place?" He asked his best friend. Tenten looked as she was about to protest before stopping.

"Sure. I'm in the mood for some ramen anyway." The brunette agreed.

"Alright!" Naruto celebrated. "Haku, you're going to love this place. They make the best ramen in the entire elemental nations." He said with excitement.

"I never ate ramen before." Haku replied, stunning Naruto.

"Y-You never ate the food of the gods before." The boy remarked, almost unsure of what he just heard.

"Zabuza-sama and I lived off the land since it was easier to hide from hunter-nin." The black haired girl explained. Naruto immediately grabbed her hand and dragged Haku to Ichiraku's, leaving behind Tenten. Haku tried her best to steady her feet but he was making it difficult. The blonde stopped at the familiar ramen stand and dragged Haku inside.

"Old man, we need a bowl of miso ramen pronto! We have someone here who has never eaten ramen in their entire life." Naruto shouted to Teuchi. The ramen chef dropped his ladle, stunned by the sentence.

"That's impossible." The cook said in disbelief before gaining a fire in his eyes. "Well I better let this person know what they've been missing out." He said as he began preparing the ingredients. A few seconds later, he finished. "Alright here it is. Enjoy." Teuchi said as he placed the bowl of ramen in front of Haku. Haku looked at the ingredients of the bowl, wondering how it would taste. Feeling the stares she was receiving from Naruto and Teuchi, the girl took her first bite of ramen. The males waited anxiously for a reaction.

"It's really good." Haku commented, much to the joy of the two males.

"Great job old man." Naruto praised.

"Ah it was nothing." Teuchi chuckled as Tenten walked into the stand.

"Naruto I can't believe you left me." The brunette complained as she took a seat on the other side of Naruto.

"Sorry Tenten. After I heard that Haku never ate ramen before, I knew I had to take her here right away." He apologized. "Old man, two bowls of beef ramen and one bowl of miso." The blonde ordered.

"One beef ramen for me, Teuchi-san." Tenten also placed her order.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi shouted as he went to make the noodles.

"Should I wait?" Haku asked since she was the only one with food.

"Nope, go ahead and eat Haku. Ramen tastes better when hot." Naruto assured. It took Teuchi five minutes to complete the orders. The three teens began digging into their food. Haku and Tenten ate at a normal pace while Naruto engulfed his ramen at a feverish pace.

Haku could only stare in amazement and disgust at how much ramen Naruto was putting away. _'How is he eating this so fast?' _She wondered as Naruto just finished his sixth bowl.

"Hello nice to meet you." A feminine voice greeted. Haku looked up to see an older girl looking at her.

"Ayame-neechan." Naruto greeted with a mouth full of ramen. The sight wasn't appealing to the eyes.

"Naruto-kun, manners." The waitress scolded. Naruto put a hand over his mouth and nodded. "You must be Haku-chan." Ayame guessed, turning her attention back to Haku.

"Hai my name is Yuki Haku, it's nice to meet you Ayame-san." Haku introduced herself. She was able to feel Ayame's eyes appraising her. Ayame's eyes then turned and did the same to Tenten.

"Well I hope you enjoy the meal." Ayame smiled as she left to welcome the arriving patrons. Haku looked at her oddly, wondering why the chef's daughter was looking at her and Tenten. The young med-nin decided to ignore it and go back to her meal. The trio ate while engaging in small conversations in between. Both Haku and Tenten finished with two bowls while Naruto ate a dozen.

Naruto handed Ayame a wad of cash that seemed to be more than what the ramen cost. The waitress accepted it while saying she'll put the rest on his tab. "Enjoy your date Naruto-kun." Ayame said as they were leaving.

"I'm not on a date Ayame-neechan. I'm hanging out with friends." Naruto denied.

"That's what you think. I'm sure the girls thought differently." The waitress teased. Haku sprouted a light blush from the statement. Tenten, on the hand, looked as if someone splattered red paint onto her face as the brunette's face turned completely red.

"Ayame stop teasing the kids and go get ingredients." Teuchi reprimanded. His daughter pouted before leaving. The trio walked out of the stand to feel the sun bearing down on them.

"What are you guys going to do now?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to go find Gai-sensei. After all, the Chunin Exams are almost here and I want to be ready." Tenten said. "It was nice meeting you Haku." The bun haired girl said.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well Tenten." Haku replied as Tenten said her goodbyes. The brunette went to the roofs to look for her sensei.

"You need to head back?" Naruto asked his friend. Haku pondered if she had anything to do.

"I have training with Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san." The black haired girl informed.

"Dang it. I was hoping that we get to hang out." Naruto cursed. "Oh well. How about I walk you back?" He offered, to which Haku nodded. The duo walked together making light conversation on the way.

"Are you ready for the exams?" Haku asked.

"I'm not exactly ready but I think my training so far will allow me to pass the exams." He admitted. Haku appreciated the honesty but it didn't make her feel any less worried.

"Please be careful. The exams are going to really difficult." She warned. She didn't want to lose her first friend. Naruto gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry Haku. I'm always careful, plus I have my teammates with me." The blonde assured as they arrived at Tsunade's estate.

"I know but it still worries me. You're the first friend I ever made so I don't want to lose you." She mumbled, looking away from him. On the list of her most precious people, Naruto was second behind only Zabuza. She felt Naruto's hand grasp hers, causing her to look up.

"I can't promise you that I'll come back unscathed from the exams but I can promise that I'll come back. And Uzumaki Naruto never breaks a promise." He gave an encouraging smile while giving her hand a gentle squeeze, comforting her slightly.

"I'll hold you to that promise Uzumaki Naruto." She replied, squeezing his hand back as she stared into his cerulean eyes. Her heart began racing as she noticed how handsome the blonde was. The sounds of birds chirping were dwarfed by the sound of her beating heart. The moment was perfect. Well it would had been perfect if it weren't for the prying eyes. The two teens turned to the door to see Tsunade eavesdropping on them.

"Don't mind me. Go ahead and continue." Tsunade told them. The teens looked at each other and noticed that their fingers were intertwined. They release their grips, both having shades of red on their faces.

"Bye Haku, Baa-chan." Naruto said quickly as he ran away. Haku watched his back as he left, sadden that he left so quickly.

"Aw man he left." Tsunade said in disappointment. "Sorry Haku-chan, next time I won't interrupt." The Sannin teased her apprentice before going back inside. Haku looked at her hand that was holding Naruto's. A warmth enveloped her chest, similar to the times when Naruto hugged her. Haku couldn't pinpoint why she felt like this or what was causing it. All she knew was that she found the feeling very pleasant.

***Day 13***

It was mid-afternoon when a tall figure approached the gate of Konoha. "Man, you boys are still stuck on gate duty." The masculine voice said as he handed his parchment to Kotetsu. Izumo and Kotetsu looked to see the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya.

"Welcome back Jiraiya-sama." The two Chunin greeted. Although Jiraiya didn't need admittance to enter the village, he liked to talk to the fans of his work.

"So Jiraiya-sama, when is the next Icha Icha going to be released?" Kotetsu asked as he stamped the parchment.

"Honestly I don't know." The Sannin replied, shocking them. "I haven't been getting much inspiration lately so I'm hoping Konoha could change that." He hoped.

"I hope so as well Jiraiya-sama, good luck on your research." Izumo said as he gave the parchment to Jiraiya. The toad sage walked through the streets with civilians staring at him. Despite his reputation as a pervert, many civilians and shinobi admired Jiraiya for being such a talented shinobi. People moved out of the way of the large man, mostly out of respect.

'_Konoha hasn't changed since I left.' _The toad sage thought as he remembered that he left without telling his godson goodbye. Thinking of the blonde, he couldn't blame Naruto for hating him. He had left the boy alone for nine years, thinking his sensei would be able to take care of Naruto. It wasn't entirely his fault as he had a spy network to run but he didn't visit even when he was in town. _'You would be ashamed of me Minato.' _Jiraiya thought in remembrance of his former student. As he continued walking to the hot springs for some much needed research, Jiraiya caught sight of a beauty.

The young woman had a curvaceous figure and was taller than most girls her age. That wasn't her most noticeable feature though. She had a chest the size of Tsunade's, when the Sannin was that age. If the female in front of him had longer blonde hair, he would had thought that Tsunade had somehow gotten younger. The kunoichi's blond hair was styled in a bob with the front bangs reaching her shoulders. She wore a low-cut grey outfit that displayed her ample cleavage. A darker grey skirt and matching high boots completed the outfit. In addition, she had a red hand guards as well as a red tanto, which was strapped horizontally to her back. Her Kumo hitai-ate was wrapped around her stomach.

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks and lecherously admired the young woman's figure. He could feel his fingers tingling to put words on paper as he continued to stare at the girl. The Sannin didn't even notice the glare that he was receiving from the blue eyed blonde girl nor the kick that was aimed for his head. Jiraiya took the kick and skidded across the ground.

"Stop being a pervert Jiraiya!" Naruto yelled at his godfather, getting everyone's attention.

"Damn it Naruto! I told you I'm not a pervert." Jiraiya shouted to his godson. "I'm a SUPER pervert." He announced with his posed.

"I'm sorry. Please ignore the pervert." Naruto bowed to the trio of Kumo-nins. Flanking the blond girl were two dark skinned Kumo-nin. The dark skinned girl had long red spikey hair with amber eyes. She wore a long grey sleeveless dress and purple thigh-high boots. Her forehead protector was a white bandana that covered the front of her hair. A long katana was attached to her back. The dark skinned boy had short white hair and a black hitai-ate on his forehead. He wore a dark grey, long sleeved hoodie with black shinobi pants. Similar to the dark skinned girl, a katana was strapped to his back. A lollipop stick was poking out of his mouth.

Jiraiya saw that Naruto froze when he looked at the trio. The man began smirking as he believed that the big boobs had also enchanted his godson. The blond boy, instead, went to talk to the dark skinned red head. Jiraiya appraised the red head but found her chest quite lacking. _'Like father like son.' _The Sannin smirked as Minato also fell for a red head. "Are you an Uzumaki?" Naruto asked. Of all the questions, that wasn't the one Jiraiya was expecting.

"What the hell is an Uzumaki? My name is Karui, not Uzumaki." The now identified Karui answered.

"Oh sorry about that." Naruto apologized for the misunderstanding. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He introduced himself.

"Did you think I was your family or something?" The red haired girl asked.

"Yeah. A common Uzumaki trait is bright red hair." Naruto explained. "I should've asked for your name before anything else." The blond boy chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, may I have your names?" The Konoha Genin asked, looking at Karui's teammates.

"Yo I'm Omoi." The boy with the lollipop introduced himself. "Oh no! What if this Naruto is here to scout us? Now he'll know our names and he'll tell all of his friends. Then at the exams, we'll be everyone's target." Omoi spoke incredulously.

"Please ignore my teammate. My name is Samui." The blonde girl said with no emotion.

'_Hmm a blonde beauty with a cold personality. Is she related to Tsunade somehow?' _Jiraiya wondered but dismissed the thought. After all, Tsunade was only cold to him.

"And I'm Jiraiya, the toad sage." The Sannin introduced himself, causing the teens to jump away from him.

"Sorry to cut your conversation short but I need this brat here." Jiraiya said as he picked up Naruto. The self-proclaimed super pervert stared lecherously at Samui one last time before leaving.

"Let me down Jiraiya." Naruto yelled into the wind.

"Shut up brat. I've got to talk to you." Jiraiya said seriously, causing the blonde to shut up. The spy master landed just outside the hot springs, dropping Naruto onto the ground.

"What was that for?" The Genin groaned, rubbing his sore behind.

"Naruto do you know about your heritage?" Jiraiya asked, sitting down. He had planned to tell the blonde as soon as he became a Chunin because he believed that Naruto would be able to take care of himself by then. "And don't try to lie to me, I'll know." The Toad Sage said narrowing his eyes. He couldn't actually tell for certain but he was confident that he could spot a lie.

"Fine." Naruto huffed. "To answer your question, I do know who my parents are." The blonde replied.

"How?" Jiraiya asked, knowing that his sensei and Tsunade wouldn't reveal Naruto's heritage.

"I found out a day after my 9th birthday." Naruto informed, shocking Jiraiya.

'_He knew about it that long ago!'_ The Sannin thought in disbelief as his godson continued to speak.

"I wasn't actually the one who found out. Shikamaru was the one who told me after he found a picture of his parents and mine. He did some research and told me about his findings. Baa-chan confirmed it yesterday when I asked her." The blonde confessed. Jiraiya couldn't believe that a little brat was able to find out the village's closest guarded secret. Especially since not many made the connections, despite how similar Naruto and Minato looked.

"How did you know that most Uzumaki have red hair?" Jiraiya asked since that fact wasn't common knowledge.

"Oh Mikoto-san told me after I asked if she knew any Uzumaki." Naruto replied. Jiraiya nodded as it made sense for Kushina's friend to know that fact. The Sannin could see that Naruto was desperately trying to find any remnants of family.

"Alright Naruto. I'm going to make a seal that'll make your search for family members easier." Jiraiya said. Naruto's eyes became the size of dinner plates as he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"You can do that!?" Naruto shouted. The toad sage picked at his ear from the loudness of his godson.

"Yeah I can. Fuinjutsu can do almost anything." Jiraiya smirked.

"I know that but I couldn't find a way to make one in any of your books." Naruto commented. The series had stopped at five because no one was buying any of Jiraiya's sealing books.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to make intricate seals one day." Jiraiya said as he brought out his sealing paper and brush. He was glad that he was now bonding with his godson.

"Thanks Jiraiya." Naruto smiled. Jiraiya felt relieved that Naruto had forgiven him. "Don't think I forgave you just yet though." Or not. "Still, you're off to a good start." The boy commented as he watched his godfather work.

"I won't have the seal ready today." Jiraiya informed sadly. "I need to make sure it works before applying one on you." He said, to which Naruto nodded. "How about this? If you can make it to the final portion of the Chunin exams, I'll give you this seal along with another present." The toad sage proposed.

"How many portions are there?" Naruto asked, trying to get information from his godfather.

"You'll know." Jiraiya simply replied, knowing what the blonde was trying to do.

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to become a Chunin anyway. I accept your deal." The jinchuriki said with confidence. Jiraiya couldn't believe how much Naruto had grown.

"Although I would love to stay and talk, I need to report to sensei." The white haired man said, interrupting their bonding moment.

"That's fine. I need to start my training anyway." The younger male shrugged.

"Good luck in the exams gaki. I'll be watching you." Jiraiya said before leaving. He arrived in the Hokage's office through his secret entrance, aka the window.

"Would it kill you to go through the door like a normal person?" Sarutobi asked, not bothering to look up to see who it was.

"It just might. I don't know if you booby trapped it." Jiraiya remarked.

"So anything to report?" Hiruzen wondered, looking up from his dreaded paperwork.

"According to my spy network, Orochimaru is the Otokage of Otogakure." The student informed. Hiruzen leaned back into his chair. "Also his elite group, called the Sound Five, attacked Kusagakure and kidnapped one of their Genins. No reports on why nor the identity of the one that was kidnapped." Jiraiya reported.

"This is worrisome to say the least. I also have something to report." Hiruzen remarked before handing Jiraiya a folder. "This is Danzo's report on his dealing with Orochimaru. Look at the last entry." Hiruzen said. Jiraiya did as told and what he read, baffled him.

"Are you telling me he was able to get his hands on the Sharingan?" Jiraiya asked for confirmation.

"Yes, apparently he has possession of the Sharingan." The Sandaime nodded. "Orochimaru was supposed to implant it into Danzo. We, however, interrupted the deal from being made." Hiruzen informed. "I've recalled most of our forces, in case, Orochimaru decided to attack."

"You think he's coming after the Uchiha brat." Jiraiya said grimly.

"Yes. After all, only an Uchiha can handle the full power of the Sharingan. We need to keep extra tabs on Sasuke-kun." Hiruzen suggested.

"Yeah, I'll try to find more information on Orochimaru. It's proving difficult though." Jiraiya said with a frown. Every time he got a lead, it turned out to be a dead end or a trap.

"Good, but for now, I need you in the village. Even Orochimaru will hesitate to attack if you, Tsunade, and I are here." Hiruzen ordered.

"Fine with me. It gives me ample time to do my research." Jiraiya said with a smirk.

"How long until your next masterpiece?" The Hokage asked anxiously.

"Soon I hope." The author informed.

"You should watch your godson. I've heard that Naruto-kun has become quite popular." Hiruzen recommended.

"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea, but first, I need to pay Tsunade a visit." He said before hopping out of the window.

"He's going to get killed one of these days." The Hokage remarked as he took a much needed smoke break. A couple moments later, the ground shook as Jiraiya was punched for peeking on Tsunade.

***Day 14***

Samui woke up from the sound of her teammate's loud snoring. She hadn't planned to wake up this early but the snoring was getting to her. The blonde girl stretched her body, causing her breasts to jiggle. As soon as she reached sixteen, her chest started developing faster than the other girls. Now at seventeen, Samui had the biggest chest in all of Kumogakure. The kunoichi hated her boobs because of the constant back pain and the stares she would receive. Men and women alike would naturally be drawn to her chest. Men ogled her body as she walked by while woman glared at her as they whispered things behind her back. Samui naturally adopted the 'Ice Queen' persona to avoid dealing with people.

The Kumo-nin contemplated on what to do and decided that anything was better than staying in the room with Karui. Samui got up from her bed and proceeded to take a nice long shower. After getting dressed in her usual outfit, she made a note for Karui to see when the red head woke up. Samui left the room, not bothering to inform Darui or Omoi. The dull Jonin was their temporary sensei as Bee couldn't leave since he served as Kumo's protector. The Kumo kunoichi walked the halls of the hotel before promptly exiting.

As soon as she exited the hotel, a light breeze came by. Samui greatly enjoyed Konoha's warm weather in contrast to Kumo's cold climate. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Kumo's weather but Konoha's was a nice change. Many stores were just beginning to open as people were beginning to wake up. Not wanting to feel the stares, Samui searched for a secluded place to relax. After walking for two blocks, she came across a small bookstore.

The blonde enjoyed reading books as her pastime. Initially, it was mostly used to distract herself from her older brother's yapping. Before long, Samui found herself becoming sucked into the stories as if she was actually in the book herself. The blonde walked in and was greeted by an elderly woman.

"Hello dear, is there anything I can help you with?" The old woman asked as she started shaking.

"I was just looking for a book to read in peace." Samui informed.

"Oh let me go get you a book dear." The aging woman slowly lifted her body to move.

"Oba-san I'll take care of it. You can sit." A male voice called out. Samui thought the voice sounded familiar but she was unable to identify it. The blonde boy from yesterday came out from the back. "Oh it's Samui. Good morning!" He greeted energetically. Samui briefly wondered if the boy was always this energetic.

"Hello Naruto-san." Samui politely greeted back.

"Oba-san you can sit here. I'll help Samui." Naruto assured the old woman. Samui thought it was nice that he was helping the woman out. She saw that the fellow blonde was ushering her to the back. The Kumo-nin cautiously followed Naruto, unsure of his intentions.

"What type of book are you looking for?" Naruto asked, not looking back.

"To be honest, I came to get some peace and quiet." Samui admitted.

"Well you definitely get that here since people rarely stop by." Naruto replied as they arrived to an open area. The small area had a small leather bench near an open window for the sun to come through. "Would you like a book anyway?" The boy asked, looking at her. Samui wondered for a brief second before nodding.

"Yes I would like a book, if you please. I prefer an adventure story." She gave him her specifics. Naruto went off to search for the book. He came back a few seconds later as Samui situated herself on the bench.

"Here, this is a favorite of mine." Naruto said as he handed her 'Tales of a Gutsy Ninja'.

"Thank you." Samui thanked him but there was no emotion in her voice. Naruto also sat down on the bench, diving into his own book. Samui opened up her book to find that the name of the main character was also Naruto. She glanced at the boy curiously, wondering if he had given her the book on purpose. In the short time she met Naruto, he had stood out from the others. He looked at her directly when they talked instead of at her breasts. He also didn't seem to mind her indifferent tone.

"May I ask what you're doing here so early?" Samui asked. The fellow blonde intrigued her.

"Same as you. I wanted to spend some time in peace and there's no better way to do that than with a book." Naruto replied, once again making eye contact. "I would ask the same to you. I figured you'll be holed up into your room until the exams started."

"That was the plan initially but Karui's snoring was too much." Samui explained, causing Naruto to laugh.

"Well I would leave too if that was the case." He agreed. "I'm curious. What is Kumo like?" Naruto asked. "If you don't mind of course." The blonde boy added, not wanting to pressure Samui into answering.

"I don't mind. Compared to Konoha, Kumo's climate is usually cold. We're high up in the mountains so snow is commonplace in our village. Kumo is quite cool." Samui replied, being careful of how she answered. She didn't want to reveal too much about her village.

"Man that sounds awesome. I wish I could visit there sometime." Naruto said excitingly.

"You're a very unique individual Naruto-san." Samui said. She enjoyed the fellow blonde's company. Karui was brash and quite loud whenever she talked. Omoi would often go off on a tangent. Bee would constantly rap every word. Her brother insisted on having 'hot' in every one of his sentences. Darui would proclaim that everything was dull. Indeed, Naruto was a pleasant change.

"Thanks but you should see some of the more unique individuals that Konoha contains." Naruto snickered. Not knowing what else to say, Samui went back to her book. Seeing that the conversation was over, he also went back to his own book. As the Kumo kunoichi was reading her book, she had to admit that the story was engrossing. She sympathized with the main character as he dealt with the difficulties of being a shinobi. Unfortunately the combined force of her sleepiness, the gentle wind, and the sun's warmth made it very difficult to stay awake.

Samui tried her absolute best to keep her eyelids from closing but she was fighting a losing battle. Eventually her sleepiness won out as Samui began to drift off into slumber. She didn't even noticed that her head had accidently landed onto Naruto's shoulder. The Kumo-nin slept peacefully without a single care in the world.

Samui woke up an hour later as the sun's rays was directed to her eyes. She blinked several times, wondering where she was at before remembering that she was in the small bookstore. As the blonde girl got up, she felt a jacket on her person. The black jacket had served as her blanket when she was sleeping.

"Oh you're up." A voice alerted her of their presence. Samui turned to see that Naruto was in the exact same spot that he was in earlier. "Enjoy your nap?" The blonde male asked, looking away from the book.

"Yes. Thank you for your jacket." Samui thanked him as she returned the jacket.

"No problem. I didn't want you to get sick before the exams." The jinchuriki replied. Samui was thankful that he cared for her well-being. Noticing the sun in the sky, she realized that she should head back before her teammates began worrying.

"I should leave. I don't want to worry my teammates." Samui said as she got up.

"Let me walk you back to your hotel." Naruto said as he got up as well.

"Thank you for the offer Naruto-san but-" He stopped her from finishing her sentence.

"Naruto." He said, much to her confusion.

"I'm sorry?" She was unsure what he meant.

"You can call me Naruto. That's what all my friends call me. Plus I prefer no honorifics." He informed.

"Well Naruto, I appreciate the offer but you don't need to walk me back." Samui repeated.

"Nonsense. I was raised to always walk a lady home." Naruto said, remembering Shizune's lessons. Samui didn't need anyone walking her back as she remember the directions. Still, she enjoyed spending time with the other blonde and she wasn't going to stop him from being chivalrous.

"If you insist." She relented, causing the boy to smile.

The two exited the bookstore after saying their goodbyes to the elderly lady. They walked at a slow pace since neither had anything to do afterwards. Samui spent most of the time admiring Konoha's landscape and chatting with Naruto. Thankfully, the street they were on was void of people so she didn't receive many stares. The two arrived at Samui's hotel in five minutes. "Thank you for escorting me Naruto. It was a very gentlemanly thing to do." Samui said as they stopped at the entrance.

"It was the least I could do Samui. I had fun spending time with you." Naruto smiled.

"You didn't find my tone cold?" Samui wondered since she was often told that she always sounded cold or indifferent.

"Not really. Just because your name means cold, doesn't mean you're cold. If that was true, then I'm a fishcake." Naruto joked. Both blondes laughed at his pun. Samui was surprised that she laughed in front of someone that she didn't know very well. She figured it had to do with Naruto's friendly nature.

"I know your name also means maelstrom Naruto." She informed.

"Dang it you caught me." Naruto said in mock disappointment. Samui chuckled once again. "You should laugh more, I like your laughter." He said, complimenting her. Samui felt her face heat up slightly but it wasn't noticeable.

"Thank you Naruto. I should head inside now. Perhaps we can hang out some other time." Samui commented as her face regained its normal temperature.

"You bet! Next time I'll show you around Konoha." He said. Samui waved goodbye to her new friend as she stepped into the building. The Kumo-nin made her way back into her room to find Karui waking up. The red head girl rubbed her eyes multiple times as she looked at her teammate.

"Is something wrong Karui?" Samui asked, wondering why her teammate was staring at her. Her voice seemed to knock the red head out of her stupor.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just rare to see you smile." Karui admitted. Samui was puzzled so she checked herself in the mirror. As Karui informed, she was indeed smiling. It was a small smile but it was quite the contrast from her usual appearance. "What got you into such a good mood?" Karui wondered what could possibly make her friend smile. The blonde haired girl pondered the question for a brief second.

"Well I met a very interesting fishcake today." Samui said as she entered the bathroom.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Karui wondered.

**Reviews:**

**buterflypus, NinjaFang1331, davycrockett100, DocSlendy, and Imgonnadie - **Thank you.

**emilbootanimefreak - **Thank you. I'm glad that you like seeing Sakura and Sasuke maturing. Also glad that you like reading about the other Konoha 12.

**Shigure Toshiro - **Yeah I wanted Sasuke to look from a different point of view besides his own.

**Seerking – **No, I believe I got my words right. I know they're two separate jutsus but to me, one's a variation of the other.

**DhanaRagnarok - **Plenty of fanfiction writers addressed Sasuke's problem the same way. I always wondered why Sasuke listened to Itachi's advice. Sasuke would be alright if the villagers didn't constantly pamper him.

**Alex2909 -** Thanks. I wanted to write about them to show their growth as well.

**Navn Ukjent - **Naruto would learn that sticking with just C-Rank Jutsu will result in some bad things happening. Shadow clones will make an appearance in the sequel.

**LordGhostStriker - **Of course. I'll do an omake in the next chapter since this chapter was so long. Plus, it sounds like a great idea.

**Guestspirit - **I think I've found the perfect summon for Naruto and it's a bird.

**ChronoMitsurugi - **Sasuke had a horrible past but it didn't help that he was a jerk. Still, he should had accepted other people's help. Also for the Spider-Man and Wolverine conversation, is that an Avenger issue? If so, can you tell me? I'm a fan of Spider-Man lol.

**xsanoxx - **Possible theories. I won't spoil anything but yeah Zabuza's screwed.

**Clairent - **Haha thanks. It's great when I leave people amazed.

**MemberXIII - **Thank you. I'm not the best editor in the world so I would like it if you can tell me where my errors are located.


	13. Chapter 13

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 2/4/16. Added descriptions to several main characters.

**A.N.**

The long awaited Chunin Exams are here! I had an extremely hard time making the first part of the exams original but I did it. I challenge the readers to see how many questions they can get right on the quiz! Anyway in this chapter, I'll introduce three OCs for the Kiri team. Two of my own creation and another by one of my readers, **Guestspirit. **I know people aren't fans of OCs but I hope you like them.

In other news, do people read my author notes? I get the same questions over and over. The pairing for this story is Naruto x Haku x Tenten x Fu x Samui. There will be no one else included in the harem since I don't want it to be too big. This story also has Naruto learning only C-Rank jutsus and below. Jutsus such as Shadow Clones and Rasengan will be introduced in the sequel. I'll add this tidbit to the first chapter for the new readers. Sorry for the long author note, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 13: Chunin Exams Begin!**

Naruto woke up just before his alarm started blaring. Turning off the alarm to avoid hearing the annoying noise, the blonde slowly got out of his bed. Walking zombie-like into his bathroom, the jinchuriki went into his morning routine. After putting on his clothes, he rechecked his supplies in case he missed anything. After all, today was the beginning of the Chunin Exams. The boy went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast when a knock resounded from his door.

Opening the door revealed his two neighbors/brothers, Sai and Shin. "Breakfast." The oldest said as he walked in. Sai, at least, had the manners to greet Naruto before heading in. The two Root ANBU sat down on the stools as Naruto started cooking.

"When did you guys get back?" Naruto asked as he grabbed the ingredients from the refrigerator. Dropping several eggs into the bowl, he started to whisk the yolk together.

"We got back yesterday night. Hokage-sama recalled us for the Chunin Exams." Sai explained.

"I'm glad that the old man gave me some rest. Border patrol sucks." Shin complained. The other two chuckled at his complaints.

"Looks like you'll be here to see me in the Chunin Exams." The blonde stated.

"You need to make it to the last round first. Not that I don't think you won't." The grey haired boy said with confidence. Both he and Sai had the absolute confidence that Naruto would pass.

"Of course I am." Naruto replied as he finished prepping. He put the ingredients into the pan as he prepared to make omelets.

"Be cautious. There are many foreign shinobi here and not all of them are friendly." The youngest warned.

"You worry too much." Shin remarked lazily.

"No Sai's right. I know for a fact that there will be several shinobi pinning for me." The Yondaime's son chimed as he handed the plates of food. He knew that Iwa was going to be after him. Both Shin and Sai raised an eyebrow, neither knowing about Naruto's heritage. Still neither asked, trusting that Naruto could take care of himself. The blonde poured everyone a glass of orange juice as they dug into their food.

"This is so much better than ration bars." Shin said with a mouth full of food.

"It's definitely better than your cooking for sure." Sai added as he took a bite out of the omelet. The oldest glared at the black haired boy. Naruto could only laugh at the two. The three brothers enjoyed a rare family meal together.

"Alright I'm off." Naruto announced as he put his plate in the sink. Shin looked at the clock.

"Isn't it a little earlier?" The grey haired boy inquired.

"Yeah but I need to stop by Higarashi's to grab my wakizashi." The jinchuriki replied.

"Good luck Naruto." Sai wished him luck.

"Naruto doesn't need luck. Lady Luck practically blesses him with the stuff. Don't you remember poker night?" Shin reminded his youngest brother. The two would never forget how Naruto managed to take all their money.

"Hey I gave the money back!" Naruto responded.

"You still cleaned us out!" Shin retorted. "But good luck little brother." He said with a smile.

"I'll see you guys later." The blonde shouted as he left his apartment. "Oh and someone do the dishes for me." He shouted before finally leaving. Sai and Shin made eye contact.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors." The two played with Sai coming out on top.

"How can paper beat rock? It doesn't make sense." The oldest grumbled as he did the dishes.

Naruto stopped in front of Higarashi's and entered the weapon store. "Here for your blade?" Kajiya asked when he saw the blonde walk in. The jinchuriki nodded as the weapon smith went into the back to grab the sword. "It's about time you came. I told Tenten to tell you it was ready days ago."

"She never mentioned it." Naruto said as sealed the blade into a small scroll. The blonde placed the scroll inside his jacket pocket. He didn't need to inspect it since he trusted the older man's work.

"She must have forgotten. Anyways good luck Naruto. I know you're on different teams but can you watch out for my Tenten?" Kajiya asked.

"No problem Kajiya-san." The jinchuriki replied. "But Tenten is a strong kunoichi, I'm sure she can take care of herself." The blonde assured.

"I know but it helps knowing that you're looking out for her." The man smiled. The two gave their goodbyes as Naruto made his way to the Academy. When he got there, he saw that Kakashi was waiting for him.

"Naruto, just the person I was looking for." The Jonin said as he held up a form. "I need you to sign this."

"What's that?" The blonde asked.

"Oh…It's just a form I need you to sign so you can enter the exams." His sensei replied nonchalantly. Naruto's eyes bulged from its sockets.

"Why didn't you give it to me earlier!?" The boy said as he snatched the paper. Taking out his ink and brush from his pouch, Naruto quickly signed the form.

"I forgot." The silver haired sensei shrugged. "Anyway Sakura and Sasuke are up ahead. Tell them to go to room 301." Kakashi said as he disappeared with the form. The blonde pocketed his materials as he headed to his teammates.

"Hey Sakura-chan, Sasuke." The jinchuriki greeted his teammates.

"Hey Naruto." The rosette replied cheerily.

"It's about time." Sasuke commented. "Did you get your form signed?" The Uchiha asked.

"Yeah, just now in fact. Kakashi-sensei forgot to give it to me." The blonde answered.

"Ugh you too." Sakura remarked. "He came to my house in the morning so my parents could sign the form. I was shocked to find him in my dining room when I woke up." The pinkette replied.

"Anyway, do any of you know where to go?" The black haired boy asked.

"Kakashi-sensei told me to head to room 301." The jinchuriki informed. His teammates nodded their heads at the information.

"Let's go you two." The Uchiha said as Team 7 stepped into the Academy. Once they got inside, they saw a long line of Genins heading into a room numbered '301'. The team was immediately suspicious as they had only walked two sets of stairs.

"It's a Genjutsu." Sakura whispered to the boys. They nodded and silently went up the stairs when a green figure stood in front of them.

"Hello Sakura-san, you look as beautiful as always." Lee shouted, much to the dismay of Team 7. Before the Gai-mini could utter another sound, Naruto leapt at him and covered his mouth. Several teams down below looked up but didn't see anything. They ignored it and continued to patiently wait in line. Team 7 breathed a sigh of relief that no one had spotted them.

"Sheesh Lee, are you trying to add competition?" The blonde whispered as he slowly let his hand off his friend's mouth.

"Sorry Naruto-kun." Lee actually whispered. The four made their way upstairs where Kakashi, Gai, Neji, and Tenten were waiting.

"There you are Lee." Tenten said as she found her teammate. The young spandex wearer marched towards his team.

"Good luck my students! Your flames will shine brightly in the exams!" Gai shouted as he left.

"We'll see you guys inside." Neji said to Team 7 before he and his team left. Kakashi turned to his own students.

"Well I was able to successfully submit your forms so you're good to go." The Copy-Nin said with an eye smiled. All three of his students gained a tick mark from their sensei's forgetfulness. "You guys have been training hard. I have confidence you'll make Chunin." He praised. His students' anger dissipated as they were praised. Sakura and Naruto gave big smiles while Sasuke smirked. Nodding their heads, Team 7 entered room 301.

The team scanned the room to find all sorts of shinobi in the room. It seemed that each village occupied a certain part of the room. "It's about time you got here!" Kiba shouted as Team 8 made their way towards them.

"Kiba you're too loud." Shikamaru groaned as Team 10 also made their way to them. They all greeted each other but the more observant members noticed that they were being watched.

"What's up forehead?" Ino smirked as she greeted her rival.

"I'm good, Ino-pig." Sakura replied as the two rivals began trading insults.

"Hello everyone." Hinata greeted to the group. Shino remained quiet while Chouji had mumbled a greeting in between his snacking. The group was loud, oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

The Iwa-nins, situated at the bottom right of the room, were openly glaring at the group of Konoha rookies. They were mainly directing their glares at the two blondes in the group. "That blonde boy looks like the Yellow Flash." One of the Iwa-nin remarked. The group nodded in agreement as they also noticed the similarities. "Let's kill him." He suggested.

"Stop." A commanding voice stopped them. The figure had short black hair along with piercing pink eyes. The person's attire consisted of a red uniform that lacked the right sleeve, a matching skirt, and fishnet stockings. The Iwa hitai-ate was fastened to their forehead. The Iwa-nins turned to face the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi. "Attacking him now is the same as a declaration of war. If you want to attack him, wait until the exams start." She told them. Although reluctant, the group heeded her advice.

"What do you think Kuro?" A large boy asked as he stood by her side. Like Kurotsuchi, he wore a red attire from top to bottom. His hitai-ate was a bandana that covered his spiky black hair. The most recognizable item of his outfit was the yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. "Do you think he's the Yellow Flash's son?" Akatsuchi inquired as he looked at Naruto.

"I don't know but I can't fault them for assuming that. He looks similar to that murderer." Kurotsuchi replied as her pink eyes locked on Naruto.

"I don't care if he is or not." The two turned to their teammate. The last member of Team Iwa was a kunoichi with shoulder length brown hair. Her attire was an altered purple battle kimono with red trimmings that left the shoulders exposed. A bright yellow sash was wrapped around her waist. She also wore thigh-length grey stockings that matched her steel grey eyes. "I want to crush that Aburame." Suzumebachi openly glared at Shino. She and her clan longed for revenge against the Aburame Clan.

Both Konoha boys noticed the staring but they didn't meet the gazes. "Looks like Iwa knows I'm here." Naruto whispered to his best friend. "But that brown haired girl is glaring at you." The blonde observed.

"Based on the way my kikaichu are behaving, I believe she belongs to the Kamizuru Clan." Shino informed. The jinchuriki gave a nod as he remembered reading that the Aburame Clan defeated the Kamizuru Clan when Iwagakure tried to invade Konohagakure. Near the top right of the room, Naruto was able to recognize Team Samui among the Kumo-nins.

"Hey it's that blonde from the other day." Omoi remarked as he licked his lollipop.

"Oh yeah." Karui looked in that direction. "What was his name again?" She asked, not remembering the Konoha-nin's name.

"Naruto." Samui informed as she nodded her head at the fellow blonde. Naruto smiled and waved at her. The other members of Team Samui watched the interaction with astonishment. Karui then remembered what her blonde teammate had said yesterday.

"That's fishcake!?" The dark skinned girl said in shock. She wanted to shout but that would had drawn unwanted attention.

"What's going on?" The male member asked, confused on what was going on. His mind was already racing through several scenarios. The leader of the group chose not to comment but Karui and Omoi were already wondering what was the two blondes' relationship.

At the bottom left of the room, the Kazekage's kids were also observing the Konoha group. "Those rookies don't look the least bit worried." Kankuro commented as he watched them interact. The middle child of the trio, Kankuro wore an all-black attire with a hood that had cat shaped ears. His face was plastered in purple war paint. Attached to his back was a bandaged item.

"You can say that again. Either they're confident in their skills or they're just plain stupid. I'm thinking it's a little of both." Temari replied. The lone kunoichi's sandy blond hair was gathered in four ponytails. Her attire consisted of a single light purple dress that extended to her thighs with a scarlet sash around her midriff. Fishnet was worn underneath the dress and on her legs. Her hitai-ate hung loosely from her neck. Attached to her back was a giant battle fan.

"Kankuro, Temari shut up." Garra ordered. He had spiky red hair, green eyes, and pale skin. The youngest child wore a black suit with a long white sash that went from his right shoulder to his left side. On the other shoulder was a leather sash that was used to hold up a body-sized gourd. The most prominent features were Gaara's black markings around his eyes and the kanji 'love' on the left side of his forehead. The two older siblings immediately clammed up to avoid getting killed. His 'mother' was calling for blood but the Biju would need to wait. _'Just wait mother. Once these exams start, you'll get your blood.' _He thought, not noticing that most of the Chunin hopefuls were giving him a wide berth.

Standing in a corner was Team 9, who preferred not to draw any attention. Well Neji and Tenten did anyway as Lee went to join the Rookie 9. "Ugh, I thought we told Lee not to draw attention." The weapon user complained.

"It was inevitable, especially considering what he's wearing." Neji replied but his eyes remained on the group of Kumo-nin. Although he no longer believed in fate, Kumo was the reason for his father's death. "Just remain vigilant." He advised his teammate. The brunette nodded as she saw Fu approaching her.

"Hi Tenten-chan." The Taki kunoichi greeted the brunette. Neji rose an eyebrow at the foreign kunoichi but chose not to comment.

"Hi Fu, looks like you've been well." The weapon user replied with a smile.

"Yup." Fu replied but she was looking around. "Where's Naruto-kun?" The mint haired kunoichi inquired, not seeing her fellow jinchuriki.

"Naruto is over there in that group." Tenten pointed to the other members of Konoha 12.

"Oh I see." The Nanabi jinchuriki remarked. "Why aren't you over there?" The younger girl wondered.

"I'm trying to avoid catching other teams' attention." The brunette explained. Fu nodded before she headed towards the blonde boy.

"Naruto-kun!" Fu shouted as she hugged the boy, much to the surprise of the group. Tenten was equally astounded at the girl's overly friendliness.

"Hey Fu." The blonde greeted the Nanabi jinchuriki.

"Who's this Naruto?" His female teammate asked. Although she hadn't received much training on her sensing, Sakura was able to sense chakra over a certain distance. Though she usually couldn't identify the individuals, she was able to identify them if they had large amounts of chakra. This was pointed out by Inoichi when he was teaching her. This girl and Naruto were among the ones in the room that she was able to clearly identify.

"This is Fu, a kunoichi from Takigakure that Tenten and I met the other day." The blonde explained. The Uzumaki noticed that Shino seemed unsettled with Fu's presence.

"Hello my name is Fu." The mint haired girl introduced herself as she held onto Naruto's arm. The others introduced themselves to her as well. As Fu talked to rest of the Konoha rookies and Lee, Shikamaru and Shino talked to Naruto away from the others.

"My kikaichu are restless in her presence." The Aburame boy informed. The blonde nodded but didn't tell his friend why. After all, it was a secret that Fu had shared with him.

"Be careful Shika. I think the Iwa-nins might go after Ino as well. They've been staring at me and her since I've arrived." The jinchuriki warned.

"Troublesome. They aren't the only group looking at us. Those guys with a musical note on their hitai-ate have also been staring at us. I think it's a new village." Shikamaru cautioned. The Aburame and Uzumaki glanced at the group Shikamaru was talking about. As the Nara heir said, the group was indeed staring at them.

"Excuse me." A deep voice asked as he tried to enter the room. The Konoha rookies looked to the door to see a towering figure. The group made way so the person could enter. "Thank you." He said politely as he entered the room. Everyone could only look on in shock as the 5'9" tall figure came in. The figure was wearing a green muscle shirt that displayed his muscular body. Even the baggy blue shinobi pants failed to hide the impressive leg muscles. Strapped to the muscle guy's back was two huge dumbbells that looked as if they weighed a ton. His dark brown hair was shoulder length with his bangs covered his brown eyes. A Kiri hitai-ate was tied to his left bicep to show his affiliation. Naruto had never seen anyone as big as the guy in front of him.

"What's the holdup Trin?" A childish voice asked the now identified Trin.

"People were blocking the way so I asked them to move." Trin explained. A kid that looked no taller than 4'4", stepped from behind the giant's shadow. The kid had long violet hair that was tied in a ponytail and had purple eyes. The youth's top consisted of a sleeveless purple top along with purple arm warmers. The bottom consisted of loose fitting brown pants and purple shinobi boots. The Kiri hitai-ate was tied around the waist, serving as a makeshift belt. It was obvious that the kid's favorite color was purple.

"Well looks like we can go in." The child said as she hopped onto the giant's shoulder. The Kiri-nins made their way to an open area in the back. If Naruto wasn't watching closely, he would had failed to notice that a girl had walked in with them. The girl, who was 4'11", had straight, medium-length light blonde hair while her face was covered by a pure white porcelain mask that only had slits for the eye holes. Her attire was a black sleeveless shirt with matching pants. Her arms and legs were covered with grey warmers. Around the girl's neck was a loosely tied Kiri hitai-ate. The Kiri group settled in the back but all eyes were still on them.

A large poof was heard as Morino Ibiki and several Chunin appearedin the room. Many prospective Chunin flinched at the sight of the imposing T&amp;I director. "It's quiet in here. Good." He smirked, which sends shivers down several Genins' back. "I make the rules and whoever doesn't obey them will be immediately disqualified. Do I make myself clear?" Ibiki asked as he released a small killing intent. Several members of the Konoha 12 gulped at the pressure. Naruto was pretty sure he would had been the same way if he hadn't met Ibiki before. All the shinobi situated themselves into seats.

"We'll now begin the first part of the Chunin Exams." The chief proctor announced. "We'll separate the teams into separate rooms, where you and your team will complete a writing test. I'll only say the rules once so you better pay attention. There are ten questions on the test, each one resulting in one point. To pass the test, you need to score at least eight points. Your assigned proctor will check whether your answers are correct or not. Now onto the rules. The first rule is to hand the test to the proctor before the time limit is up. There will be a fifteen minute time limit. Failure to hand the test to the proctor in time will result in automatic disqualification." Ibiki wrote on the board. No one said anything since the test seemed fair.

"The second rule is that under no circumstances, are you allowed to erase or scratch out your answer. If the proctor catches you scratching out or erasing your answer, you immediately fail." Ibiki said. The Genins knew that it meant you only had one chance to answer the question correctly.

"We'll now call your team's name. Come down when you hear it called." Izumo instructed. Several teams were led out of the room while the rest waited. Fu's team was among the teams that left. After fifteen minutes, none of the teams returned.

'_So we don't know if we passed until the very end.' _Naruto mused as the proctors called the next batch. This time, team 7 was called by Chunin Proctor Okei. He led them to room 306, where their examination would take place. Naruto began scanning the square room for traps and the like. The only thing in the room was a square desk with a facedown piece of paper and a pencil with an eraser. _'Most likely to psych the ones who forget about the second rule.' _The blonde thought as he continued to look over the room. There were two chairs: one by the desk and one by the door. The one by the door was most likely for the proctor.

"You have fifteen minutes to finish the test and your time begins now!" Okei announced as he sat down on the chair by the door. Sakura immediately sat down and flipped the paper. Sasuke and Naruto stood by her side, in case she needed help. The team had decided to let Sakura lead since she was the most intelligent out of the group.

**Question 1: Which is heavier: a ton of gold or a ton of silver?****  
****Question 2: Which month has 28 days?****  
****Question 3: What is light as a feather, but even the strongest person cannot hold it for more than a few minutes?****  
****Question 4: If you are running a race and you pass the person in 2nd place, what place are you in now?****  
****Question 5: A clerk at a butcher shop stands 5'10" and wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?****  
****Question 6: What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?****  
****Question 7: A farmer had 15 sheep, and all but 8 died. How many are left?****  
****Question 8: There's a one story house where everything inside and outside of it is PURPLE. So what color are the stairs?****  
****Question 9: What goes up and never comes down?****  
****Question 10: Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg is white" or "The yolk of the egg are white?"**

"What's with these questions?" Sakura wondered as the questions were confusing. Sasuke wasn't having much luck either.

"These are trick questions." Naruto answered. His two teammates turned to him for an explanation. "Trick questions are used to makes you think 'outside the box'. For example, the tenth question gives you two choices when there's actually another choice. I know for a fact that egg yolk is yellow and not white since I cooked eggs this morning." He explained.

"I get it now." The kunoichi commented. "It gives you the illusion of an answer."

"Ok I get that. But what about question 6?" The Uchiha asked.

"That's what you would call a riddle. Riddles are basically questions that are phrased oddly to throw you off. The answer to number 6 is a towel." The jinchuriki replied. His two teammates now understood what he meant. A towel indeed got wetter the more it dried you off.

"Alright Naruto. Since you know the most about these questions, you should answer them." The rosette said as she got out of the seat. The blonde tried to refuse.

"I know about them but that doesn't mean I know all the answers." The whiskered boy said quickly.

"Don't worry, we trust you Naruto." Sakura said. The jinchuriki couldn't believe they trusted him with this test. Well Sasuke didn't say anything but he also didn't protest it either. "Plus if you need help, then you can just ask us." She offered.

"Alright you can trust me." The blonde smiled. He wasn't going to let his teammates down. The two boys got in an argument when Naruto said he'll put 'Sasuke's hair' for number 9. That lead to them asking if Sasuke used gel, which the Uchiha said his hair was natural. Okie couldn't believe that these Genins were so relaxed on a timed test. Eventually, Team 7 finished writing down all the answers on the test.

**Answer 1: Both are the same weight.****  
****Answer 2: All of them.****  
****Answer 3: Your breath.****  
****Answer 4: 2nd place.****  
****Answer 5: Meat.****  
****Answer 6: A towel.****  
****Answer 7: 8****  
****Answer 8: There are no stairs.****  
****Answer 9: Your age.****  
****Answer 10: Neither, egg yolk is yellow.**

"Alright. Now all we need to do is hand it over to the proctor." The lone female said as she tried to hand the paper over but the proctor dodged. This repeated two more times before the team understood.

"Looks like we need to forcefully hand the paper to our proctor." The Uchiha commented as he went to intercept the Chunin. Naruto went from the other side to flank the proctor. The Chunin effortlessly dodged out of the way.

"You won't be able to land a hit on me." Okei remarked.

"One more time." The blonde said as he and Sasuke resumed their attacks. This continue for several minutes when the Chunin noticed something was wrong.

"Shit it's a Genjutsu." The Chunin cursed as he dispelled the Genjutsu but it was too late as he was already tied up in ninja wire.

"**Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique)** successful!" Sakura shouted.

"Awesome job Sakura-chan." Naruto cheered. Sasuke nodded his approval to the kunoichi. The rosette gave the test to the proctor. Okei accepted the paper and read over the answers after he was untied.

"Follow me." The Chunin said as he led them to another room. On the way there, they saw a group of Kumo-nin being led by another proctor. The Kumo-nins went into room 303 while Team 7 entered room 302. As Team 7 entered, they noticed it was identical to room 301. The only teams there was Fu's team and an Iwa team that Naruto didn't recognize. "Wait here." Okei ordered before he left the room.

Immediately Fu came over to greet them. "Hey Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke-kun." She friendly greeted.

"Hey Fu, looks like you passed too." Naruto commented, positive that his team had passed. At least he hoped they did.

"Yup. Shibuki answered the questions while I stopped the proctor." The fellow jinchuriki replied.

"What did your other teammate do?" Sakura asked. The mint haired girl frowned at the mention of her other teammate but quickly changed to a happy expression.

"He helped Shibuki out." Fu lied. Her other teammate didn't do anything despite constantly bragging that he'll pass. The blonde boy was able to catch it but the rosette was none the wiser. The Kyuubi jinchuriki couldn't blame his teammate for not seeing it. Naruto was only able to catch it because he had often put up a mask when he was younger. Sasuke, on the other hand, was worried about what Fu had said.

'_She was able to detain a Chunin by herself. Sure I might be able to but I wouldn't come out without at least a few scratches. She looks injury free.' _The Uchiha thought as he observed the younger kunoichi. _'What's in the red bag?' _He wondered. The shinobi chatted away as they waited for the other teams to arrive.

"Stupid monster. I can't believe it's trying to make friends with foreign shinobi. It's lucky that they don't know that it's a monster." Hoki, Fu's teammate, snarled. He had curly brown hair and black hair. His outfit consisted of a grey shirt underneath a blue jacket, blue shinobi pants, and a Takigakure hitai-ate on his forehead.

"Stop talking about Fu like that. She's a person." Shibuki glared. The son of Takigakure's leader, Shibuki was the only one who volunteered to be on Fu's team. No Genin in the village wanted to be on the same team as the so called monster. Hoki was reluctantly placed on the team since they needed three people to participate in the exams. Shibuki didn't understand why the village hated Fu when they were the ones who sealed the Nanabi into her. His teammate scoffed but remained silent.

***Team Suna***

Garra and Kankuro let Temari deal with the test since both didn't want to deal with it. The Ichibi jinchuriki would rather kill than to answer annoying questions. The middle child of the trio would rather spend time tinkering with his various puppets. Which left the lone kunoichi to deal with the test. Luckily the questions were simple enough that she was able to answer them. Just like Team 7, the proctor didn't accept the paper.

"If you don't want to die, you better accept this paper." She warned. The oldest child wasn't sure how Garra was going to react. The Chunin stood there confused on why the Suna kunoichi was cautioning him when he was lifted into the air by sand.

"Wait Garra! We need him to lead us to the next testing section." Kankuro shouted to stop his brother from killing. The Chunin was scared out of his wits as the jinchuriki stared impassively at him.

"Fine." The youngest sibling gritted, releasing his captive. The proctor accepted the test and quickly scanned the paper. He hastily led them towards room 302.

***Team 10***

Shikamaru yawned as he took his time answering the questions. He was, of course, nominated as the test taker by Ino. The Yamanaka stood to the side, ushering him to work faster. Chouji didn't seemed the least bit worried as he continued to snack on his third bag of chips. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when there's five minutes left." The Nara said as he laid his head down. The black haired boy already knew the purpose of the test so he didn't worry about it.

"Wake up Shika. You can sleep once you're finished." Ino tried to rouse him awake. Izumo smirked at this generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. They were similar to the previous generation except that Inoichi didn't nag like his daughter. Suddenly he realized that he couldn't move.

"**Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) **completed." Shikamaru stretched, causing Izumo to mimic the action. "Chouji, can you hand the test to Izumo-san?" He asked as he yawned. Chouji did as his best friend asked and handed the paper over to Izumo, who accepted it. The pineapple canceled his jutsu and waited for Izumo to check the answers. Shikamaru wasn't worried since he had seen the exact same questions before.

The Chunin smirked at how smart the Nara was. "Follow me kids." The eternal Chunin said as he led them to room 302.

***Team Samui***

The three Kumo Nin answered the questions to the best of their abilities. Although the questions were a little confusing, all three were confident in their answers. Well, the kunoichis were confident anyway. "What if I got my questions wrong? I'll cause the team to fail, which will result in Bee-sensei rapping about our failure. Everyone in Kumo will hear about it and it'll bring shame to our families. To escape the disgrace, all three of us will flee to another country." Omoi went off on a tangent.

"Can you shut up for once Omoi!?" Karui groaned. "None of that is going to happen and don't say anything else before I take away all of your lollipops." She threatened her teammate.

"No not my lollis!" The male begged. Samui had to suppress a sigh at her teammates.

"You guys are acting uncool." The blonde said coldly. "Don't worry Omoi, we'll pass the test."

"Okay." He replied as he got off the ground.

"I wish you would listen to me like you listen to Samui." The redhead complained as she prepared to hand the test over. The Chunin proctor attempted to flee but she was stopped by three blades aimed at her neck. Samui had her tanto pressed against the Chunin's front while her teammates' blades were on the sides.

"We would like you to check our answers." The leader of Team Samui glared. The proctor agreed, not wanting her head to part from her body. She led them towards room 302.

"What if she reports that we attacked her and the Hokage declares war on Kumogakure?" Omoi began but the Konoha kunoichi stopped him.

"It's okay. I won't report it because it was part of the exams. Just…please stop talking." Suzume pleaded. _'Dealing with him is worse than dealing with the Academy kids.' _The sensei thought.

***Team 9***

Lee was currently bouncing around the room, unable to hold his excitement. "There are so many strong opponents. I can't wait to fight them." He shouted as he started exercising. His teammates and the proctor didn't share his enthusiasm. Although he wanted to save this until later, Neji resorted to his secret move.

"Lee, I challenge you to a battle of silence." The Hyuuga male announced. He had learned this attack from Naruto after he found out that the blonde was responsible for Lee's change in attire.

"Yosh! My rival has challenged me to a duel!" The bowl head shouted. "Wait, what's a battle of silence?" He asked. His male teammate smirked, knowing that he had successfully baited in Lee.

"Whoever stays quiet the longest wins." Neji told him.

"Yosh I accept! If I lose, I'll run ten laps around Konoha after the exams are finished. If I cannot do that, I'll do 1,000 pull-ups." The spandex wearer proclaimed.

"How about I decide your punishment?" Tenten chimed in. Hopefully she could get Lee to wear something else beside the spandex suit.

"I'm sorry Tenten but Gai-sensei told me that I should propose my own punishments." Lee informed. The bun haired girl clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Let's start Lee." Neji said as the two boys no longer spoke. This, however, didn't stop Lee from exercising. The Hyuuga headed over to Tenten to help her solve the questions. He saw that she had left the third question blank but he knew the answer.

"I don't get the third one." The kunoichi complained, tapping the pencil. She didn't see her teammate trying to get her attention.

'_The answer is breath.'_ He thought as he went in front of her.

"What are you doing Neji?" She inquired. To answer her, Neji held in his breath until he was blue in the face. Eventually he released the breath, hoping she would understand. "Your breath! Thanks Neji." The kunoichi thanked him as she wrote down the answer quickly. Daikoku, the Chunin proctor, knew his turn was coming up when the brunette approached him. Refusing to accept the paper, he created some separation. "Lee, grab him." She commanded. The Chunin looked around but he couldn't spot the green spandex anywhere.

He was suddenly pulled down to the ground and was pinned to the floor. The Chunin looked to his captor, who was Lee. "Where did he come from?" The Chunin wondered as he didn't even hear or see the Genin. Both Neji and Tenten were surprised at how quickly their teammate was able to catch the proctor.

'_If Lee stays quiet, he could be dangerous.' _The Hyuuga mused as Tenten successfully handed over the paper.

***Team Iwa***

"I want to burn this thing and bury it under fifty feet of ground." Kurotsuchi complained. Her team was the best Genin in all of Iwagakure. All of them should've been Chunin already via field promotions but they were held back for this Chunin Exam. Yet here the trio were, stumped by some questions.

"No, let my bees have at it." Suzumebachi seethed as her insects began buzzing.

"They are pretty confusing." Akatsuchi said calmly but his teammates continued to bicker. They were debating what method to use to destroy the piece of paper.

"How does these questions apply to being a shinobi?" The Tsuchikage's granddaughter groaned. She didn't want to know what her grandfather would do if she failed the first part of the Chunin Exams.

"Maybe we could force the answers out of the proctor." The bee user suggested. The two kunoichis turned to Kotetsu, who immediately began to pale. The lone male team member sat down on the chair and waited for everything to play out.

"Wait, I don't know the answers." The Konoha-nin lied. Ibiki had told all the proctors to remember the answers so they could check them.

"I'm not interrogating you." The black haired kunoichi said sweetly. "I'm just wondering what would happen if my lava 'accidently' lands on your sensitive parts." She smirked as she produced some lava. The magma landed on the floor and left a hole in its place.

"Or if one of my bees 'accidently' lands on your crotch." The brunette said as her bees appeared. Akatsuchi felt extremely bad for the man as a fellow member of the male species. Kotetsu gulped as the girls continued to advance towards him.

"Wait, I'll tell you the answers!" The eternal Chunin yelled, catching the Iwa team in surprise. He began rattling out the answers to them but Kurotsuchi wasn't convinced.

"No, you write the answers for us. You could be lying and trying to fail us." The black haired kunoichi said as she ushered him to the desk. Akatsuchi got out of the way as his teammates continued to threaten the man to work faster. Kotetsu wrote down the answers and slowly led the team to room 302.

***Team 8***

"I suggest you don't move proctor-san." Shino told the Chunin. "My kikaichu are on your body and they will immediately suck your chakra at my command." The Aburame informed.

"Watch him boy." Kiba instructed Akamaru, who replied with a bark. The ninken quietly watched over Sarugaku, the proctor. Meanwhile, Hinata was answering the question with some difficulties.

"How did you know that we have to fight the proctor Shino?" The Hyuuga female asked.

"I don't know if we do indeed have to fight the proctor. But based on what the chief proctor stated, it would be unwise to assume that the proctor would simply take our test. That was why I had my kikaichu attached itself to the proctor's body when he called us." The kikaichu user explained as he pushed up his shades. Hinata nodded but his explanation shocked his male teammate.

"That's the most I've ever seen ya talk." The Inuzuka whistled in amazement. Unknown to him, Shino gained a tick mark. Choosing to ignore him, the Aburame decided to help his other teammate. The proctor readily accepted the paper and led them to room 302.

***Team Kiri***

Kotetsu was assigned to the Kiri team because he had given the answers to the Iwa Team. The Chunin didn't know if his day could get any worse as he led the trio into the room. The child and the silent girl went straight to work as they both headed for the desk. "Trin, can you stand next to proctor please?" The kid asked the giant.

"Sure Aki." Trin politely replied as he leaned against the wall next to Kotetsu. The Konoha-nin immediately tensed up, wondering if they knew the purpose of the test.

"Tap me if you need help Nodoka." The child told the girl. The way the team interacted, it was safe to assume that the kid was the leader. Nodoka nodded at the child and immediately went to work. Kotetsu wondered why the teammates wasn't helping the girl. He didn't need to ask as the blonde stood up.

'_She's finished!? It's only been a few seconds.' _The Chunin thought in shock as he started his duty. Unfortunately the child stood in front of him, preventing him for getting up. He didn't even see the purple haired kid comes toward him.

"I suggest you remain seated proctor-san. I'll hate to ask my teammates to hurt you." Aki told Kotetsu. Trin immediately got off the wall with Nodoka on the opposite. The Chunin grudgingly nodded, seeing how he was surrounded. He accepted the paper and found that all the answers were correct.

"Ok please follow me." The proctor said as he led them out of the room. After being threatened twice in a day by Genins, Kotetsu wished he was back on gate duty.

***Room 302***

Naruto watched the various teams that entered through the room. There was still quite a bit of Genins in the room. As soon as a Suna team entered, Ibiki **Shunshin** into the room. "Alright maggots, take a seat." The interrogator ordered. Everyone followed his orders, none wanting to anger the man. As they moved, Ibiki made a head count on how many were left. _'24 teams. Not bad but more than I would've preferred. Oh well, Anko should shorten the numbers.' _The scarred man thought. "So you guys think you have what it takes to become Chunin?" He said as released a little killing intent.

Naruto desperately wanted to scream 'Hell yeah' but he controlled himself. He didn't need to draw attention. "Hell yeah!" The blonde yelled anyway, unable to contain himself. Well, he had already drew attention to himself earlier when the Konoha rookies met up. Most were stunned that someone replied to the scary proctor. Sakura wanted to bang her head on the desk in front of her. Fu copied her fellow jinchuriki's action, causing a few laughs. Ibiki smirked at the Genins, especially the blonde boy.

"Good. Because all of you pass the first part of the Chunin Exams!" Ibiki shouted to the hopeful Chunin. Most breathed a sigh of relief from passing the first part. "As many of you expected, the purpose of this test is to think outside the box. As a shinobi, not everything is as it seems. Sometimes you'll be forced to use different methods to reach the same goal. Most of you used your own knowledge to solve the answers but there was another way to acquire the answers." He said, shocking most of the Genin. "Your proctor needed to know the answers to the test to check it. You could've simply interrogated the proctor for answers." Ibiki revealed.

The kunoichis of Team Iwa smirked since they did just that, albeit unintentionally. "The second part of the test was delivering the paper to the proctor. As Chunin, you'll often go on missions to capture an enemy or deliver your object successfully to the client. Often the enemies will be unwilling to abide by your rules. As a team, you need to capture the enemy even if they're higher ranked than you." The T&amp;I director explained. He could see that most were registering what he had said. "I wish you good luck on the rest of the exams." Ibiki said as he waited for Anko's entrance.

After a good silent minute, the window shattered and in came a figure. Two kunais etched themselves onto the opposing walls as a banner was raised. It read 'Second Examiner, the sexy and single Mitarashi Anko, is here!'. Naruto and Kiba immediately shrank into their seats as soon as they saw her. "Don't get too comfortable gakis, the second part of the Chunin Exams starts now!" Anko yelled. The Genins were too stunned by the entrance to comment.

"Anko you're actually late. What happened?" The scarred man said from behind her banner. The tokubetsu Jonin blushed because she had actually mistaken the room numbers. She initially appeared in room 301, only to find that no one was there. Realizing her mistake, she went into room 302. Hoping to find an excuse, the snake user scanned the room.

"72 left, are you getting soft on me Ibiki?" She asked.

"There are some good ones this year." He remarked with a smirk.

"Well it doesn't matter anyway. After my exam, that number will be cut in at least a half." Anko smirked, causing the Genins to panic. In the corner of her eye, the interrogator caught a familiar shade of yellow. Her smile widened as she saw her favorite person to play with.

'_Shit she found me."_ The blonde jinchuriki cursed.

"Alright! Everyone follow me to the next testing section." She said, still looking at Naruto.

"Uzumaki, stay for a bit." Ibiki said. The Uzumaki and everyone that knew him raised an eyebrow. Assuring his teammates, the boy stayed behind. Once everyone was gone, the T&amp;I leader went up to the blonde. "I have a request." He said, much to Naruto's confusion. "I need you to make more of those clay instruments." Ibiki confessed, causing the teen to sweat drop.

"Couldn't you've waited until after the exams?" The blonde asked. "And what do you mean you need more?"

"The amount of successful interrogations has increased since the addition of your clay tools. Unfortunately, those tools are beginning to show their age. We need a new batch of them. As for why I couldn't wait, it simply occurred to me that I should ask the original supplier." Ibiki said with a smile.

"That's great?" Naruto said, unsure what else to say. "Well a new batch will have to wait until after the Chunin Exams."

"I perfectly understand and be assured as I'll personally reimburse you for the materials. Anyway, I better let you go so you can catch up to the group. Good luck Uzumaki Naruto." Ibiki said as he let the blonde go. Naruto nodded and chased after Anko, who was heading towards Training Ground 44.

**Reviews:**

**davycrockett100, Iskandar06, buterflypus, Shigure Toshiro, raw666, binklepie, Killjoy3000, Swaggerthanswag, and loveinyou -** Thank you so much for reviewing. Hope you continue to enjoy this story!

**Ryuujin96 - **Glad you enjoyed Naruto's interactions with the girls. Naruto will stick with the Academy Taijutsu style for now but he'll have an ace up his sleeve. His pressure points Taijutsu style won't be concealed for long. Hehe. The harem is starting to come along and we'll see how Naruto handles it.

**John Bob – **Sorry, no Temari.

**Trace Reading - **Thanks for that. I always mistype those two words and Word never corrects me since they're both spelled correctly.

**Waldo Santiago - **Samui has great potential. I think she and Naruto could really interact well together.

**LordGhostStriker –** I'm having difficulties writing the omake about Bruce Lee and the Youth duo. I think I'll put it on the back burner for now. Hehe. There aren't any fishcakes quite like Naruto, that's for sure.

**Wondering Knight - **First time I had a review that actually responded to another review. Interesting to say the least.

**DocSlendy - **This story has romance. It has ninjas. It even has childhood! What more can you want? LOL Nice review!

**NinjaFang1331 - **Thanks. The harem was always going to be 3-4 girls. I decided it to be four girls to include Samui.

**Reign of Sorrow - **Hey you reviewed, which is greatly appreciated even if you have nothing to say. What part of chapter 7 do you agree with?

**courtofdust - **Thanks for the tip! I'm trying to use more contractions now.

**Illuminated – **Yes, Naruto unlocked a bloodline limit that causes people to go sleepy in his presence. Lol. To be honest, I have no idea why I wrote the girls falling asleep so much.

**NC Me - **Why have one, when you can have both? Lol. Both of them are in the harem. Thanks for the compliment.

**crazeface - **Samui is part of the harem. The only reason she isn't in the description, is because it doesn't allow me to tag more than four people.

**MetallicMilitia - **Thank you for the awesome compliment. I'm really glad my characters are displaying emotions. I do agree that some fanfictions tend to rush things regarding stuff like love. But there are some really great ones out there that do a way better job than me though.

**emilbootanimefreak - **Always loved Tenten since she was introduced to the canon storyline. I'm glad I'm doing her character justice. Tenten is slowly accepting her feelings for Naruto but is also noticing the girls around him. She's going to have her moments for sure. Currently Samui's in the big sister role but that'll gradually change.

**ChronoMitsurugi - **I just knew I had to end the chapter with the words 'fishcake' when I came up with it. It was such a great way to end the chapter.

**DhanaRagnarok – **That's very much true now that I think about it. Glad you liked all of Naruto's interactions and scary Shizune is the best Shizune! Forest of Death is next chapter and it'll be different for sure.

**Apedreitor - **Haha I got that 'cool' pun at the end. I agree as I could see Samui and Naruto acting that way.

**MemberXIII - **I'm glad the chapter was mostly error free so you can enjoy it better.

**empty-walls - **Thanks for trying it out even though you don't enjoy harem stories. I have lots of plans for Shino and he'll get interest from the ladies. Shino will have a major role going forward since he's Naruto's best friend. The same could also be said for Mr. Pineapple head lol. I'm glad I was able to keep Naruto's personality intact.

**Gold Testament - **Things kind of got lost in between chapters 8-9 because I took a mini hiatus. Good point about Sai talking to Ino. Most likely will add that in when I edit the chapters. No one is a fan of the spandex, no matter how much it defines Lee. Sasuke is pretty anti-social besides his teammates so I'm trying to get him to open up more. Sasuke will also learn of Naruto's promise to Mikoto. Totally true how Naruto is Samui's type.

**RiagaThunderGod234 - **Thank you very much. I'm glad you're enjoying the subtle changes to each character. Bashing and completely changing someone's character is something I loathe.

**HelpfulNudge - **Your username is so appropriate. Glad you like the story. I would love to get a beta but there are two problems. One: I don't know how to get one. Two: I'm a very spontaneous writer who writes whenever he gets inspirations. So I don't exactly have a set schedule for releases.

**Light Lord Cybergate - **I like the original team despite its flaws. Yeah Naruto has a way better chance of passing the exams this time.

**iitrnr - **There are some really good Naruto fanfictions out there but I know what you mean by the repeated clichés. Even my story has them lol. Glad you enjoy the story.

**Rickjames196 - **First off is wow! Your reviews are all over the place. You were liking and disliking my story at the same time. The only thing I could really say is thanks for the review.

**Dmckellips - **Hey any review is welcome. Especially reviews like yours that encourages me to write.

**WeberCode - **Sequel!? I'm not even done with this one yet. Lol. The sequel will come in time.


	14. Chapter 14

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 2/6/16.

**A.N.**

Sorry for the long wait! I've been extremely busy with real life and school. Although it'll be slower updates, you should be able to expect at least one chapter a month. Thanks for being patient and I hope you continue reading. Here's the second part of the exams!

**Chapter 14: Camping in the Forest**

Our protagonist quickly caught up to Anko and the rest of the Genins. The Tokubetsu Jonin was leading the prospective Chunin towards her favorite training grounds, Training Ground 44. It was a brisk pace but none of the remaining Genins lagged behind. Finally, the purple haired Jonin dropped down in front of the training ground. All of the Genins were in awe at how imposing the training grounds looked. A tall gate surrounded the grounds but it was dwarfed by humongous trees that stretched to the sky.

"Welcome to my favorite training grounds, Training Ground 44. Or more commonly known as the Forest of Death!" The sadistic Jonin said dramatically as a roar was heard from within the forest. Many of the hopeful Genins paled at the ominous name. "Listen up because I'll only say this once. This place will be the stage for the second part of the Chunin Exams. You'll have exactly five days to obtain your objective and transport it to the tower that's located in the center of the grounds. The tower is approximately 50 kilometers from here. You're disqualified if any of your teammates die, you fail to acquire the objective, or you fail to make it to the tower in time." She explained.

"What about food?" Chouji asked as he wondered if he had enough snacks to last to last five days.

"You can find plenty of meat and vegetation in the forest. That's if they aren't trying to maim or poison you." Anko replied sadistically.

Many of the teams began murmuring but a quick glare from Anko quickly shut them up. "As you can most likely tell, a variety of dangerous wildlife live behind these fences. From humongous snakes to flesh eating leeches, you can be sure that these creatures will be out to kill you. Even I have a hard time of surviving more than a week in there and I'm a Tokubetsu Jonin." The T&amp;I interrogator informed, causing many to worry. Of course, there were those like Fu and Gaara who didn't seemed concerned at all.

"Your objective is to obtain this scroll," The purple haired Jonin pulled out a scroll labeled 'Heaven', "that is scattered around the Forest of Death. Most of the scrolls can be found attached to the various wildlife or near their nests. If you're lucky, you can find one littered around the forest." Anko finished with a wide grin. "Oh and one last thing there are only 12 scrolls available." She concluded. The Genins looked at each other, scouting the competition.

"Now that we got all of that sorted out, I need all of you to sign these nifty forms." The purple haired Jonin produced some paper forms.

"What are those for?" A curious Kusa-nin asked. The smile on Anko's face terrified the young Genin.

"Oh it's nothing really. It just insures that Konohagakure isn't responsible in the event that you're killed or severely injured during the second part of the exams." She replied nonchalantly. Looking at the pale faces, the Jonin was satisfied with her job. "Gaki come here and pass out these forms for me." Anko shouted. Everyone was clueless to who she was addressing, except for one blonde.

Naruto stepped forward with a frown plastered on his face as people began giggling at the nickname. He was mumbling something about crazy snake lady as he took the forms. The blonde boy proceeded to do as instructed but he was actually thankful to Anko. He was given the chance to scout the competition first hand without rousing any suspicions. So far, he saw teams that didn't seemed to possess much danger but the jinchuriki knew better to judge based on impressions. The errand boy stopped to the Suna team that were given a wide berth from the rest of the competitors.

"Here are your forms." Naruto said as he handed it to the boy that was shorter in stature. The red head said nothing to him as Gaara gave him a vicious glare.

"Mother wants your blood." Gaara voiced, causing chills to run down Naruto's spine. It didn't take long to know that the red head was on a different level compared to the rest.

"I'll take those. You should go and pass out the rest." Temari interrupted, taking the papers. The fellow blonde heeded the warning and went to pass out the rest. The rest of the teams were far more pleasant to converse with, even the Iwa teams that wanted to slash his throat. Naruto ignored them as he was used to dealing with hate but there was one Iwa kunoichi that he was weary of. Unlike the rest, her eyes seemed to analyze him rather than glaring with fury.

Other notable teams were the Kiri team and Samui's team. The Kiri team was friendly, especially the purple haired kid and the big brute. The masked girl was quiet and didn't utter a single word. Samui's team, mainly the dark skinned girl, was bombarding him with odd questions concerning the two blondes' relationship. He was only saved from answering by Anko telling him to hurry up. All of the Genins signed the forms and handed them back to the Jonin.

"Alright line up at one of the 44 gates and we'll begin shortly." She ordered. The Genins did as commanded and line up a gate. Team 7 appropriately chose gate 7 as their entry point.

"We need to be careful of the Suna team. I have an extremely uncomfortable feeling about the red head on that team." Naruto warned his teammates. Both of them raised an eyebrow at the warning.

"What do you mean Naruto?" Sakura asked. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, she just wondered what exactly put the blonde on guard.

"I can't explain it but he gives me the chills. Just trust me on this." The blonde replied. The rosette nodded but Sasuke was wondering how strong the guy actually was.

"Alright the second part of the exam will commence shortly. Anko-sama will grace you with one last piece of advice: Try not to die!" She advised. As Anko finished, the gates swung open and the teams leapt into the Forest of Death.

A random Iwa team sprinted across the forest, hoping to intercept Team 7. As they sprinted across the forest floor, the kunoichi noticed a scroll on the ground. "Hey I found the scroll." She alerted her teammates. The team thanked their fortune for finding the objective so quickly. The leader of the team picked up the scroll, not noticing that the scroll read 'Earth'. An explosion erupted as the scroll triggered a booby trap. The explosives caused several trees to fall, crushing the Iwa-nins underneath.

Elsewhere, Kusa-nins were desperately trying to fend off the many leeches that were freefalling on them. They had unknowingly walked into a leech nest and the leeches made sure that the shinobi weren't walking out. The Kusa-nins' screams of agony resounded throughout the training grounds. Outside the grounds, Anko was situated in the watch tower along with the other proctors.

*Whistles* "I wonder what would happen if no one survives the exams." She commented as she could see the smoke from her explosive trap.

"That simply means they weren't good enough to be Chunin." Ibiki answered. "But I don't think that's going to happen. There are several interesting teams participating."

"Yeah that Suna team with the red head kid is going to pass. Just remembering him gives me the chills." One of the Chunin commented as he shivered.

"How about some bets?" Kotetsu proposed. "It'll make things more interesting."

"Not now. Hokage-sama wants us to be alert since there's a possibility that Orochimaru might infiltrate the exams." The leader of T&amp;I department reminded. Anko immediately tensed at the name and subconsciously touched her curse mark. Everyone knew about her past with the traitorous Sannin and it was common knowledge to not mention his name around her. Of course, Ibiki wasn't scared of her as he knew her better than most. Screams of terror ended the conversation as the group went back to their individual conversations.

***Back with Team 7***

"So what's the plan?" Naruto asked as he leapt off the tree branch. The team decided it would be better to stick to the trees since it provided a better vantage point. None of them had ever been in the Forest of Death so they were in unknown territory. The trio stopped as it would be disastrous to advance without a plan.

"We have two options." Sasuke spoke. "We can head straight towards the tower and hope we come across the 'Heaven' scroll along the way. The second option is to target a team and take their scroll." He finished.

"With Sakura-chan's sensing ability, we'll be able to easy ambush a team. The downside is that we don't know how strong the team is." The blonde added.

"Also, I can't use my sensing ability if we're moving too fast. I need to concentrate so we'll need to move slowly." Sakura informed. As a novice, she was only able to sense chakra presences with intense concentration. The exceptions were people with huge amounts of chakra. Inoichi told her it took him years to be proficient in sensing.

"I say we head towards the tower and hope to find a scroll along the way. The other option is too dangerous as we might face a team out of our league. Even if we fail to find a scroll, we could ambush a team near the tower as they're more likely to be in possession of the scroll." The whiskered boy reasoned.

"I prefer the second option. With Sakura's ability, we'll be able to easily find teams and ambush them. Even if they don't possess a scroll, defeating a team means we have one less competitor to worry about." The Uchiha gave his reason. The two boys turned to the other member on the team. The rosette wondered which option was the best. In the past, she would had instantly sided with her crush but she had grown since then.

The kunoichi analyzed the pros and cons for each option. Option one relied on them being lucky to find the objective while option two gave them a higher possibility in finding a scroll. The problem with option two was that the enemy team might be too much for her team to handle. "I prefer option one. Although option two gives us a higher chance of success, I would rather not pick a fight when we don't need to."

Sasuke grunted, not liking her answer. "Alright let's get a move on. We'll move slowly so Sakura can sense other teams. If anyone spots anything, alert the rest." The Uchiha ordered. There was no protest from his teammates about him taking leadership. Team 7 resumed their march towards the tower but at a slower pace.

***Suna Team***

"This forest is huge." Kankuro commented as his siblings walked ahead. They were having no luck finding the scroll so far and he could tell that Gaara was getting restless.

"Shut up Kankuro. Your voice is annoying me." The youngest ordered as he continued his walk through the dense forest. The older brother immediately complied, not uttering another sound in fear for his life. Temari inwardly sighed as she continued to walk. Suddenly, a rain of senbon rained down on them but they skillfully avoided them. In Gaara's case, his sand absorbed the attacks before it could reach him.

"Hand over your scroll or die." The Ame-nins foolishly revealed themselves. Temari and Kankuro relaxed their weapons, knowing that the trio in front of them were dead.

"Since you asked that question, it means you don't have a scroll either." The blonde kunoichi commented.

"If you don't have the scroll, then you're a waste of my time." Gaara said grimly as the sand underneath the Ame-nins swirled alive and enclosed them. The jinchuriki lifted them into the air and in one swift motion, **"Sabaku Soso." **The three Ame-nins perished into nothingness as their blood oozed out of the sand. His siblings turned away from the slaughter. "Let's go." He commanded as the sand returned to the gourd.

The two followed, avoiding the pool of blood that remained. The trio walked in silence for several minutes before a loud roar was heard. "What was that?" The middle child asked, getting ready for an attack. A rustling came from his left and he turned to see large piercing eyes staring at him.

"Is that a tiger?" The oldest sibling asked due to the size of the beast. It was easily three times the size of a regular tiger and it was staring its huge eyes at them. Temari was able to catch a small 'Heaven' scroll hanging around his neck. "It has the scroll!" She informed as she dodged the tiger's swipe. Unfortunately the swipe caused a large gust to form, pushing the kunoichi into a tree. Her fan absorbed much of the impact from the collusion.

"Temari!" Kankuro yelled as he unwrapped Karasu. The tiger opened its maw in an attempt to eat the puppet user but sand enveloped its body.

"You shall make me feel alive!" Gaara shouted as he tried to enclose his sand but the tiger burst forward. It swung its paw to strike the jinchuriki but the sand was faster. The automatic shield prevented the strike from hitting its target. This time, Gaara used his sand to hold down the tiger's legs before moving in for the kill. "You made me feel alive. Your reward is death." The sand slowly swallowed the tiger as it was crushed.

Temari and Kankuro watched as their younger brother's sand slowly devoured the beast. "What about the scroll?" The kunoichi asked.

"I've got the scroll." Gaara replied stoically, lifting the scroll from the sand. "Let's go." He ordered and his older siblings complied.

***Team Kiri***

"Thanks for the help guys." Aki said as she swiped the scroll from the dead Iwa-nins. "Aww man, this is an 'Earth' scroll." The child complained. "Any luck Nodoka?" She asked her fellow kunoichi. The mask wearing girl didn't offer a reply as she continued checking the pockets of the other Iwa-nins.

"I found the scroll." Trin shouted a distance away, waving the parchment in the air. His teammates came over and saw that he indeed possessed the scroll.

"Great job Trin." Aki praised as Nodoka nodded. "Let's go." The purple haired kid said as the trio left, leaving behind three teams of dead Iwa-nins.

***Team Samui***

"Seriously, what's your relationship with that blonde Konoha-nin?" Karui questioned. The dark skinned kunoichi was adamant on knowing her leader's relationship with Naruto ever since she found out who 'fishcake' was.

"Maybe he's her long lost brother that went missing when she little. He had gotten lost one day and accidently ended up in Konoha. Samui finally recognized him after believing he was dead all these years. She wants him to come to Kumo with her and Atsui but he doesn't want to leave. Samui is hoping to convince him before the exams are over." Omoi theorized as he jumped off a branch. The blonde kunoichi suppressed a sigh.

"Will you two be serious?" Samui berated. "We're in the middle of an exam and you guys are acting uncool."

"You're going to tell me once we finish this part of the exams." The red head huffed as she took lead. Something caught her vision, making her stop in her tracks. "Someone's watching us." She whispered. The Kumo-nins took out their swords as they scanned the area.

"Jump!" The leader shouted as all three leapt off the branch and down to the ground. The trio looked up to see eight eyes staring back at them. "A man-sized spider." Samui commented coolly.

"That crazy Jonin wasn't kidding when she said that the creatures will be out to kill us. Look at the fucking size of that thing." Karui cursed.

"What if that spider is one of the creatures with the scroll? Then we'll need to kill it but once we kill it, more pops out. Then we'll have to waste all of our energy killing the spiders. In the end, we won't make it to the tower in time and fail." Omoi spoke before getting hit by the hilt of Karui's sword.

"That's not going to happen!" The dark skinned kunoichi shouted.

"I found the scroll." Samui told her team. They followed her gaze and saw the parchment covered by spider silk. The large spider screeched loudly, causing the Kumo-nins to wince. Suddenly large spiders appeared from the trees surrounding the trio, preventing any escape.

"You just had to open your big mouth." Karui groaned. The three braced themselves for a fight against an army of man-sized spiders.

***Team 7***

The three had so far been able to successfully avoid making contact with other teams thanks to Sakura. "How far do you think the tower is?" The kunoichi asked as she rested in the shade.

"Not sure. I'm guessing it would take around another day or two. We should have time to find a scroll and make it to the tower." Naruto guessed. It was already evening of the first day and soon night will arrive.

"Let's find a safe place to camp. This place is already dangerous, I don't want to know what it's like at night." Sasuke cut into the conversation. His teammates nodded and fell into formation. The Uchiha took lead since the Sharingan provided enhanced vision. The kunoichi was in the middle to maximize her sensing ability while the blond was in the back to provide back up. The trio traveled for several minutes before the black haired boy stopped on a branch. "Sakura, anyone nearby?" He whispered.

"Nope. We're in the clear." She replied.

"You see someone?" The whiskered boy asked as he looked around. The area had a clear area that was surrounded by trees. Add in the fact that there was a stream running nearby, it was an ideal place to camp.

"No, just wanted to make sure." Sasuke replied as he jumped down. The team began replenishing their supplies while also setting up camp. They opted not to make a tent since it would attract too much attention. As the sky turned dark, Naruto made a smokeless fire pit.

"Do you guys think we'll pass?" Sakura asked as she scooted closer to the fire. The odds were against them since they were rookies. Most teams had at least a year of experience on them.

"Of course Sakura-chan." The jinchuriki replied confidently. "We're going to ace this part and we'll beat whatever they throw at us." He added. She wondered where he got his confidence from.

"You should have more confidence Sakura. I originally believed that you were a useless fangirl." Sasuke commented, causing the kunoichi to frown. The Uchiha received a punch on the shoulder from Naruto. "But you've become a competent kunoichi." He said before turning away. The boy simply wasn't used to complimenting others. The other two snickered at the proud Uchiha. "I'm taking first watch. Come get me in three hours."

"Ah he's running!" Naruto teased as he unsealed his sleeping bag. "I'll take watch after him." He told his female teammate.

"Hey Naruto. Can I ask you something?" The rosette asked.

"Sure, go ahead Sakura-chan." The blonde answered as he unfolded the sleeping bag.

"…why do you have so much chakra?" Sakura questioned, causing the jinchuriki to freeze. "You have an unnatural amount of chakra for a Genin. You seem to have more chakra than most Jonin." The girl clarified. Naruto gritted his teeth as he wondered what to say. Only recently had Sakura been on friendly terms with him and he wasn't sure how his secret would affect their relationship.

"I…" He bit his tongue lightly, unsure what to say. It seemed that she was able to see how conflicted he was.

"Sorry I shouldn't have asked. It's probably really personal." The rosette apologized as she got into her sleeping bag. Inwardly, she was berated herself for being so insensitive. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets. This only reiterated how little she knew of her teammates and their lives. Both teens tried to rest but their minds were preoccupied.

***Team 8***

"What's wrong boy?" Kiba asked his partner, who was snarling at the bushes. This got the attention of his teammates with Hinata activating her doujutsu.

"There's a small animal over there." She informed as a black bear cub came out from the shrub. The bear huffed as its nose picked up the scent of food. The bear began to slowly eat the leftovers of Team 8.

"The cub was attracted by the smell of our dinner." Shino logically deduced. "It also seems that we have our objective." He pointed to the scroll attached to the cub's neck.

"Alright! Let's get it." The Inuzuka celebrated as he made a step towards the cub, only to be stopped by the female kunoichi. "What's up Hinata?"

"We shouldn't attack it." The Hyuuga heiress replied timidly.

"But we need that scroll." The brunette boy replied.

"I know." She said. "But that doesn't mean we have to hurt it." Hinata refuted. She didn't want to hurt the cub if it wasn't necessary. The two were in a stalemate, neither budging from their opinion.

"If there is a bear cub here, it is logical to assume that an adult bear is nearby. Perhaps we should take a cautious approach to avoid a pointless battle." Shino reasoned. The Hyuuga girl inwardly cheered while the Inuzuka outwardly snorted.

"Fine. How are we going to do this?" Kiba inquired. Akamaru barked, getting the attention of the three humans. "You want to get the scroll?" The brunette asked his ninken. The dog nodded his head before walking over to the cub. Team 8 watched its smallest member interact with the fellow animal. Akamaru tried to converse with a variety of barks to which the cub replied with snorts.

"Interesting." The Aburame commented as he pushed his shade up. "Despite being different species of animal, they seem to be conversing with each other." He observed.

"Do you know what they're saying Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked as in curiosity.

"Not really. I sometimes understand Akamaru but I have no clue what the bear is saying." Kiba replied as his partner came back to him. The ninken barked to his friend, getting his attention. "You want your dog treats?" The Inuzuka asked in confusion. He took out the bag of treats from his pants pocket and handed it to Akamaru. The ninken grabbed the bag with his teeth before making his way back to the bear cub.

"I believe they are making a trade." The kikaichu user commented as Akamaru dropped the bag in front of the cub. The cub used its front paws to take the scroll off its neck. It proceeded to use its nose to nudge the parchment forward. The two animals shared a brief thanks with a bark and a snort before the bear cub left with the dog snacks. Akamaru returned to his team with the scroll in its maw.

"Awesome Akamaru." Kiba praised as he scuffed the dog's fur. Akamaru replied with a delighted bark. "Here you go boy." The Inuzuka rewarded his partner's effort with some leftover dog treats.

"Great job Akamaru." Hinata applauded as she scratched the ninken behind the ears.

"It is thanks to Akamaru that we have obtained our objective so early and without engaging in combat." Shino commended. "For now, everyone should rest. We'll head to the tower tomorrow. I'll take first watch." The Aburame said before climbing up a nearby tree. Hinata was chosen to keep the scroll before she and Kiba pulled out their sleeping bags. Shino watched as his teammates slept but he remained alert. Although his team acquired the scroll, they needed to get to the tower safely.

His kikaichu started becoming unnaturally restless, meaning somebody was nearby. The only people that could make his kikaichu this restless was the Kamizuru kunoichi and Fu, the Taki kunoichi. Neither prospect was comforting as he hoped that they were just passing the area. "Oi its Shino-san." A friendly voice called from above. The Aburame leapt away as he threw two shurikens. "Woah, it's just Fu." The voice said as she dodged the projectiles.

That did little to settle Shino's nerves as the mint haired girl came into view. _'How did she sneak up on me? I have my kikaichu scattered all over the area.' _The Aburame mused as he debated whether or not to wake his teammates. "What are your intentions?" The boy asked as he slowly leaked his partners.

"I was searching for the scroll when I came across you. So I was wondering…" She smiled with the moon behind her. "Do you happen to have a scroll?" The Taki kunoichi asked. He knew this girl was powerful and he had no clue where her teammates were. He could lie and hope that she would leave his team alone. But the kunoichi could still attack him, regardless of his answer.

"We are in possession of a scroll." The Konoha-nin replied. His kikaichu should awaken his teammates soon and provide him with backup.

"Awesome!" Fu shouted, much to the surprise of the male. "I hope I can find a scroll soon so I could past this part of the exam." She said cheerfully. "I'm surprised that you didn't lie to me though." The kunoichi confessed as she sat down on her branch. Shino lifted an unseen eyebrow at the statement.

"How do you know that I am not lying to you?" He questioned.

"Oh your insects would have told me the truth." She replied casually, piquing his curiosity. "Anyway I better be off. I need to find a scroll before heading back to my team." Fu said before jumping off the branch. The Taki kunoichi disappeared into the forest.

"Is it possible that she can communicate with insects as well?" He wondered. Shino did know that the kunoichi had large amounts of chakra due to the fact that Fu didn't seemed bothered when his kikaichu sucked her chakra. The only person who was unaffected by his kikaichu was… "I see. It seems we have another jinchuriki in the exams." He concluded before heading back down to tell his teammates about his encounter with Fu.

***Team 7***

Team 7 rose as soon as the sun appeared in the sky. They continued their march with nothing significant occurring. "Someone's approaching from our left." Sakura informed as the team went faster to avoid meeting the other team. They continued at that pace for several minutes when Sasuke stopped.

"There's someone up ahead." Sasuke told his teammates as he was able to make out an image a couple of yards away. "Looks like they're targeting us." He concluded.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight." Naruto said what was on his teammates' mind. Team 7 nodded to each other as they prepared to face the enemy. Not being one to wait, Naruto threw a kunai in front of them. The kunai flew through the air before getting caught by the enemy shinobi.

"Finally found you." A male that had his entire head bandaged up, except for his left eye, said as the Oto-nins came into view. He wore a large poncho with long sleeves and a snake patterned scarf around his neck. His pants were also of the snake patterned variety. The male was slightly hunched over and had a straw raincoat on his back. Appearing by his sides was his teammates, a spiky black haired male and a long black haired female.

The spiky haired male had on a beige shirt that had the kanji 'death' written on the front. Similar to his male teammate, he had on snake patterned pants and a snake patterned scarf around his neck. The Oto kunoichi had her long black haired tied at the bottom with a violet bow. Other than a pale green vest, her attire matched her teammates.

The black haired kunoichi noticed something peculiar about the kunai. Wrapped around the handle of the kunai was an explosive tag. "Explosive tag!" Kin shouted in warning.

"Shit." Dosu cursed as he threw the kunai upwards, right before it exploded. The blast knocked the three Oto-nins into tree trucks. "Scatter!" He barked out just as Sasuke was in front of him. Dodging the left punch, the leader of Team Oto created some separation as he prepared to fight the target.

***With Sakura***

Sakura pursued after Zaku as the Oto-nin had a sizable distance on her. _'Hope this works.' _She hoped as she used **Shunshin no Jutsu **to intercept the fleeing boy. Her timing was just right as the rosette appeared in front of the spiky haired boy. Unable to stop his momentum, Zaku's face met Sakura's fist. The boy flew across the air and slammed back first into a tree.

"I'm going to kill you bitch!" He threatened, despite having trouble staying on his feet. The punch had disoriented his vision as he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye. Sakura had managed to hit him near his eye, causing it to swell in response. Not wasting the opportunity, the kunoichi fired several shurikens. **"Zankuha (Decapitating Airwaves)" **He shouted, releasing blasts of air from his hands. The jutsu successfully deflected the projectiles back.

Zaku looked around for the long pink haired girl but she wasn't in sight. "Come out bitch!" He insulted as he turned his body constantly. Having one eye greatly limited his fighting abilities as he could easily be blindsided. That was what the Konoha-nin was hoping for as she slammed her tonfa into his left side.

"That's for calling me a bitch." Sakura said. Not waiting for him to recover, she pressed on the attack. Zaku tried to aim his hands at the female but she kept deflecting his arms with the tonfas, making it hard to aim.

'_This girl is supposed to be the weakest of all the Konoha Genins. How can she be beating me!?' _The Oto-nin thought as Kabuto gave them information on Konoha. The information was no longer accurate as Kabuto was forced to flee shortly after graduation. A lot of things had changed since then, such as Sakura's abilities. The boy jumped away from a downward swing. He needed to regroup with his team. Their mission would need to wait. Zaku quickly reached into his pouch and dropped a smoke bomb.

The kunoichi concentrated intensely to sense his presence. Unfortunately, she found nothing as the smoke dissipated. "He must've ran." Sakura concluded as she resealed her weapons into a scroll. "Not bad for the first time using them in actual combat." The rosette nodded before heading back to her team.

***With Naruto***

Kin wasn't having a great time. Orochimaru had given her team a mission to test Uchiha Sasuke in the Chunin Exams. The black haired girl figured it would be an easy mission since Konoha-nin were weak but she was wrong. First, they had to find the team but it took forever as Team 7 would constantly slip from their grasp. After an entire day of hunting, they finally cornered the Konoha rookies. Only for her team to be separated by an explosion. Now she was fighting against someone but the kunoichi had yet to see her opponent.

Two kunais came from both sides and she easily deflected them with a pair of senbon. "Come out you coward!" She yelled into the trees. This was greatly frustrating her as her skills were limited. Her main method of attack was using bells to set up a Genjutsu. Unfortunately, that required her to actually see her opponent or she'll just be randomly throwing senbon aimlessly. The kunoichi gritted her teeth in frustration before settling her breathing. _'Alright remember what Tayuya taught you.' _

The Oto-nin cleared her mind as she focused on her hearing. A rustling was heard from behind her and she instantly fired two senbons in that direction. The throwing weapons disappeared into the shrubbery but there was no sound of pain. Instead, the sun seemed to be blocked out. Before she knew what was going on, her surroundings were filled with mist. "A Kiri-nin?" The kunoichi guessed. _'What happened to the Konoha-nin?' _She wondered.

She was correct to assume that it was a Kiri shinobi since the jutsu originated from Kiri. The kunoichi didn't even see the attack before it was too late. Using the cover of the mist, Naruto was able to easily approach Kin. He sent a punch to her solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her. Kin recoiled from the attack, unsure where it had come from. Before she knew what happened, the kunoichi blacked out. Seeing his opponent passed out, Naruto cleared the mist from the area. He had chopped the side of her neck hard enough to make her pass out.

Although he promised not to use his Taijutsu, that didn't mean he wasn't going to use his knowledge on pressure points. The blond lifted the kunoichi before putting her down on the base of a tree. Pulling out some ninja wire, he tied the Oto-nin before heading back to his team.

***With Sasuke***

Sasuke was having trouble standing up due to Dosu's attack. "What did you do to me?" The Uchiha asked as he tried to dodge another blow. He was initially dominating the fight as all Dosu could do was defend. That changed when the Oto-nin revealed a gauntlet on his right arm. The Konoha-nin thought nothing of it and blocked the attack. Somehow, Sasuke was still hit with the attack.

"You aren't as impressive as I thought." The bandaged shinobi remarked. The raven haired boy was having a hard time hearing the enemy because his ears were ringing. Then it clicked in his mind why he was hit.

"It make sense that you're from Otogakure, considering that you use sound attacks." Sasuke commented with a smirk.

"Oh. You found out after just one attack. Perhaps the reports of you being a prodigy are true." Dosu complimented. "That doesn't mean you can beat me though." The Oto-nin said as he rushed forward. The Uchiha jumped upwards, sticking to the tree branch with his feet.

"I'll admit that you're strong. I should've took you seriously from the start." The black haired boy said as he activated his doujutsu.

"Oh the famous Sharingan. The doujutsu that made the Uchiha Clan so formidable." Dosu commented as he launched upwards to engage in close quartered combat. Sasuke knew his intentions and used **Shunshin **to gain some distance. "Don't tell me an Uchiha is scared of a simple Genin." The bandaged Genin taunted.

The Uchiha replied with his clan's favored technique. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)." **A massive fireball flew straight at his opponent. Not wanting to be fried anytime soon, Dosu dodged the Katon jutsu. He was stopped mid-flight as Sasuke came from the side with a swift kick. The Oto-nin parried the blow with his left arm and raised his other arm to attack.

Thinking quick, Sasuke grabbed a spool of wire from his pouch and roped it around Dosu's gauntlet before using **Shunshin. **"Shit." The bandaged boy cursed as he felt his arm getting yanked.

"I got you now." The Uchiha claimed with the wire in his mouth. **"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)." **The fire quickly traveled on the wire towards Dosu. The Oto-nin tried to desperately free himself of the wire but it was too late as the fire engulfed his body. Sasuke smirked before realizing that his opponent had escaped. In the place of Dosu was a burnt log. "He got away…"

Dosu was hiding in the forest after he had used **Kawarimi **to substitute with a random log. _'Alright I tested him. He's strong, that's for sure. For now, I'll retreat and find a scroll to advance to the next round.'_ He thought as he saw the blonde boy and pink haired girl return. Deciding to retrieve his teammates, the Oto-nin left the area.

"Yo Sasuke." Naruto appeared, with Sakura not far behind. "Looks like you didn't get your butt whooped." The blond said.

"Hmph. As if I could lose." Sasuke grunted. "How did you two do?"

"My opponent escaped but I decided not to pursue him. I wished I would've got a few more hits in." Sakura replied as she wanted to sock him for every time he called her a bitch.

"I tied mine up but I'm guessing she's free by now." The jinchuriki answered. "It's not likely, but did any of them have the scroll?" He asked. As expected, he received no's for his two teammates. "I guess…" Naruto started but didn't finish as he saw something unbelievable.

"What's wrong Naruto?" The kunoichi inquired as she followed his gaze. "No way." She said in disbelief. Sasuke wondered what was going on and looked in the direction. The only thing remotely interesting was the burnt log that his opponent had used. Looking closer, he spotted something inside the log.

"…Am I seeing things?" The Uchiha asked in doubt. Inside of the log was a scroll labeled 'Heaven' that amazingly enough, remained unburnt.

"This is a Genjutsu right?" Naruto stumbled over the words. "I mean who would be stupid enough to put the scroll in a log." He wondered. Outside the training grounds, the proctor for this part of the exams cutely sneezed.

"Alright who's the bastard that's talking about me?" Anko wondered as she mentally went through her list of people that she pissed off over the years. The Tokubetsu Jonin stopped after the list went over a hundred.

"Who would have thought Anko could sneeze like that? It's kind of cute." Kotetsu said a little loud. Before he could react, snakes wrapped their bodies around his legs.

"It's Mitarashi Anko, the sexy kunoichi. If I was cute, then I would have put it on my banner." The purple haired kunoichi pointed to her banner that was proudly displayed inside the watch tower. "If I ever hear you call me that again, my snakes might accidently bite something very important to you." Anko warned, causing Kotetsu to gulp. Satisfied with the reaction, she dispelled her snakes before going back to her dango.

"Idiot." Izumo stated.

"Dude, people are after my balls. First, it was those Iwa kunoichis and then it was Anko." Kotetsu said as if he was involved in some big conspiracy. Ignoring his friends muttering, Izumo went back to his crossword puzzle.

Back with Team 7, Sasuke removed the scroll from the ashes of the log. "Well it looks like the real thing." He said after examining it.

"Should we head to the tower?" Sakura asked. The boys nodded to her and they went off in their normal formation. During the journey, the Uchiha decided to confirm his suspicions.

"When those Oto-nins attacks, were they going at you with the intent to kill?" He inquired. His teammates looked at him confusingly.

"Yeah I guess." The kunoichi answered.

"I don't know since I knocked out the kunoichi before she could do anything." The blonde informed. "Why do you ask?"

"The bandaged guy I was going against didn't seemed to be going full strength. It was like he was testing me." Sasuke told them about the battle that took place.

"Hm. Do you think he was scouting the competition?" The jinchuriki offered a possible answer.

"I don't think so. After all, he said 'finally found you.' That means he must have been searching for us for a while. You wouldn't go that far to scout someone, especially in a timed test." The rosette reasoned.

"Maybe he's not as strong as you thought Sasuke." Naruto commented. The black haired boy didn't reply but he did give a nod. Despite what his teammates said, he still felt that something was off. The team traveled until sundown where they once again camped.

"If my guess is right, we should be very near the tower." Naruto told Sasuke. The two boys were sitting next to the campfire. Sakura had volunteered for first watch even though the blonde insisted he would go first. In the end, the kunoichi somehow persuaded him to let her go first. The Uchiha grunted a reply but he was thinking about the blonde. Specifically Naruto and his past with Sasuke's family. He had approached his male teammate a day after they had gotten into a fight.

The jinchuriki promised to reveal his past but not that day since he had agreed to hang out with Tenten. "Naruto I want to know how you're related to my mother." Sasuke said. "…and my brother." He added bitterly. The blonde across from him frowned.

"You want to talk about this now?" Naruto asked as he tossed a branch into a fire.

"Why not? We're not doing anything and Sakura is on watch." The black haired boy replied. The jinchuriki began ruffling his blonde hair.

"Fine." The blonde resigned. "As I told you last time, Mikoto-san agreed to teach me how to be a shinobi. She taught me mainly the basics but also things such as the benefits of reading books and nutrition. Itachi-nii would come every so often and help out." Naruto could hear Sasuke's teeth grit. _'Well it's too optimistic to expect him to completely stop hating Itachi-nii. At least he didn't punch me like last time.' _He thought.

"My training began around the time I brought a book to class the first time. I'm not sure if you remember but it's the day almost everyone in class was laughing at me." Naruto chuckled because that incident caused him to befriend Shikamaru. Sasuke remembered the day and he agreed with what the Nara said, even if he didn't voice it.

"So your rise in the class rankings was due to your training with my mother." The Uchiha concluded.

"Yup. Of course you know what happened afterwards." The blonde said quietly. "Anyway." He changed the subject as he released his sword. "I don't know if you can recognize it but this wakizashi was originally Mikoto-san's katana. She modified her katana to gift it to me for my birthday. Mikoto-san also left me a scroll but it's not currently on me." Naruto said sadly. Sasuke could hear the sorrow in his voice. Something inside of him swelled as the blonde stared fondly at the blade.

He was jealous that Naruto received something from his mother while he, her son, didn't. Trying to shake free of the negative thought, Sasuke wondered if his mother left anything behind for him. He had never explored the rest of the compound since the incident. In fact, the only place he frequented inside his house was his room, the bathroom, and kitchen area.

"Hey guys." Sakura called out. "I sense several people slightly north of here. I think they're fighting." She informed them.

"Should we check it out?" Sasuke inquired.

"I want to. It could be one of our friends and I don't want to sit by and watch them get injured." Naruto stated.

"Let's go but let's watch before we intervene." Sasuke conceded. The duo followed Sakura as she led the way there. The trio remained a distance away as they observed what seemed to be two teams fighting each other. One was a Kumo team while the other looked to be Team 10.

"I see pineapple hair." Naruto chuckled as Sakura smacked him lightly. "So we're helping?" He asked.

"Of course we are. Right Sasuke-kun?" She inquired. The Uchiha saw two sets of eyes boring holes into his skull.

"Let's try to ambush the Kumo team." He agreed. Team 7 decided to move closer as they waited for their opportunity to pounce.

***Team 10***

Troublesome. That was the word Shikamaru used to describe this predicament. The original plan was for Ino to transfer her mind into one of the animals. That would've gave them the location of the scrolls but the animals didn't know anything about the scrolls. Luckily when Ino was inside a bird, she overhead a Kumo team celebrating that they got a scroll. The blonde kunoichi relayed the information and Team 8 began tailing the Kumo-nins with Ino as guidance. Unfortunately one of the Kumo-nins noticed that the same bird was following them and knew about the Yamanaka's abilities.

This lead to Team 10 pursing them for several hours. The Konoha-nins finally caught up and now they were in a standoff. Chouji was in a one on one power battle against a hefty Kumo-nin. That left Ino and Shikamaru to deal with the other two. The Nara was having a hard time formulating a plan while avoiding the Kumo-nin's persistent attacks. In the corner of his eyes, he spotted familiar blonde hair waving at him. The genius smirked as he was glad for once to see Naruto's hair.

"What are you smirking about?" The Kumo kunoichi yelled as she launched a fist.

"Troublesome." He sighed, barely dodging the punch. "I only have enough chakra to hold them a few seconds." Shikamaru yelled loudly. Everyone was perplexed on why he decided to reveal that piece of information.

"Shika you idiot. Why would you tell them that?" Ino berated as she thought the information was for her. Ignoring her, the Nara took out a flash bomb. The bomb exploded, flooding the area with light. The pineapple haired boy navigated his shadow to capture both Kumo-nin.

"**Kagemane no Jutsu **complete." He announced, holding the familiar hand sign. In a puff of smoke, the shinobi of Team 7 arrived.

"Uzumaki Naruto has arrived." Naruto declared before adding his patent paralysis seal to the two foreign-nin. They stood paralyzed as soon as Shikamaru released his jutsu.

"Thanks for the help Naruto." The Nara thanked before sitting on the ground.

"No problem but you made me waste my precious seals. Those are extremely hard to make you know." The blonde complained but he had a smile on his face as he helped his friend to his feet.

"What about Chouji?" Ino asked as her teammate was separated from them.

"Sakura is helping him. We should head over there in case they need help." Sasuke suggested but his teammate and the Akimichi arrived.

"All done and we have the scroll." Chouji informed.

"You guys beat him already?" The Yamanaka asked in wonder.

"Yeah he underestimated my strength and paid for it." Sakura replied. "Anyway let's talk in the tower. I don't want to be in this forest any longer than I have to." She suggested, to which everyone quickly agreed. The two teams made their way into the tower and entered the tall building. They were welcomed to an open area with a machine situated in the middle of the room.

"So what's next?" Chouji asked, hoping they had passed. He had ran out of his supply of snacks and he needed his fix. Shikamaru surveyed the room before walking towards the machine. The device had a rectangular box with a slot underneath. Shikamaru inserted the scroll and Asuma appeared from **Shunshin.**

"You passed!" He said smilingly as he noticed another team besides his. "Kakashi's team passed too. Too bad! Mines passed first so I win the bet!" The chain smoker smirked as he led his team to another room. Naruto repeated Shikamaru's action and out came an eye smiling Kakashi.

"Congratulations on passing the second part of the Chunin Exams. I'm really proud of you for getting this far." Their sensei congratulated them. "I'm sure you have lots of questions but how about you rest for now? I'll answer your questions when you wake up in the morning." Kakashi proposed, to which the whole team heartily agreed. They were fatigued from the stress of the tests and simply wanted a good night's sleep. The Copy Nin led them to their room where they would sleep until the next morning.

As soon as the sun rose the next morning, Naruto's body automatically roused itself up. The blonde looked around to find his teammates still asleep in their beds. Slipping out of his bed as quietly as possible, the whiskered teen made his way out of the room. Once outside, he was greeted to the masked covered face of his sensei. "Aren't you up early?" Kakashi commented but never looking away from his book.

"Isn't it a little early for you to be reading that?" Naruto rebutted.

"Maa it's never too early to enjoy the pleasures of Icha Icha." Kakashi dismissed the notion. "I take it that you want some information." The Copy-Nin asked as his student nodded in reply. "We'll wait until Sasuke and Sakura are up because I don't want to repeat this twice. For now, all you need to know is that you're forbidden to leave this tower. Also fighting is prohibiting within this tower so don't instigate anything." The silver haired Jonin informed.

"I don't instigate things. I'm a friendly person." The blonde replied.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean Iwa won't try something." Kakashi said to get a reaction. The blonde chose his next words carefully.

"Yeah Iwa hates Konoha so you'll never know what they'll try to do. Thanks for the warning Kakashi-sensei." The Yondaime's son thanked his sensei before walking away. The Copy-Nin eyed his student's back suspiciously.

'_Does he know? I should inform Hokage-sama that Naruto might know of his heritage.' _The Jonin thought, not knowing the Sandaime was already informed by Jiraiya. Naruto decided to explore the tower to see if any teams passed yet. As he arrived at an open lounge, he spotted three individuals. The three people were Gaara of Suna, Kurotsuchi of Iwa, and Nodoka of Kiri.

"Guess I'm not the only one up this early." Naruto said as he approached cautiously. Even though they were prohibited from fighting in the tower, he wasn't sure if Gaara cared about the rules. The blonde Kiri-nin said nothing as she continued to stare out the window. The Ichibi jinchuriki glared at Naruto before turning his head away and closing his eyes. The Tsuchikage's granddaughter seemed to be analyzing him from her position on the couch. "Oh don't mind me. I'm just talking to myself." The Yondaime's son said sarcastically. Yet again, no one replied to him. _'You've got to be kidding me. I get more out of Shino and his clan isn't exactly known for their skills in conversing.' _Naruto thought.

"Nodoka." A small voice called out. The four competitors turned to the new voice to see the other two members of Team Kiri. "Why are you up so early?" The kid that was perched on the giant's shoulder asked while rubbing her eyes. The quiet kunoichi didn't reply as she made her way to her teammates.

"Good morning everyone." The giant greeted.

"Good morning. The name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto replied.

"Nice to meet you Uzumaki-san. My name is Trin." The big guy told Naruto his name. "These are my teammates Aki," He pointed to the kid who was half-asleep. "And Nodoka." This time he pointed to the other kunoichi.

"Morning." The little girl yawned.

"At least someone is willing to talk to me this morning. I should introduce the others. The Suna guy doesn't really talk much but boy does he have a mean glare." The blonde boy said. "The Iwa girl has been staring at me for a while. Between you and me, I think she has a crush on me." The whiskered boy chuckled along with Trin.

"I do not!" Kurotsuchi yelled, jumping from her seated position. She had a light pink tint on her cheeks that matched her eyes.

"So you can talk!" Naruto commented with mock amazement.

"Of course I can. I just didn't feel like talking to a Konoha-nin." The black haired girl explained with a huff.

"Well it's nice to meet you too." The blonde shinobi replied. "It's nice to meet you guys as well but I got to go. My teammates should be waking up soon so I should be heading back." He told the Kiri team before running off. Naruto made his way back to his room to find that his teammates were indeed awake.

"Glad that you could join us." Kakashi said as he was sitting on Naruto's temporary bed. "Now that everyone is awake. I'll explain what's going on." The sensei started. "First off, congratulations again on passing the second part of the exams. I'm very proud of you guys but..." He sighed. "I wished you would've put your scroll in before Team 10. I lost a bet because they came in first." The Copy-Nin said dejectedly.

"I'm curious sensei." Sakura commented, not caring about her sensei's plight. "How were you able to identify what team passed?"

"The machine you put the scroll in is used to verify if you had the correct scroll. If you had put in the wrong scroll, you'll be disqualified. We have cameras set up in the main hall to see who comes in. They simply informed me when you guys entered the building." The masked Jonin explained. "Continuing on. At the moment we're currently on the third day of the second part of the exams. In total, five teams have passed." Kakashi informed.

"Including us and Team 10, there's an Iwa team, the Suna team I warned you about, and the Kiri team that came right before the first test started." Naruto added. His sensei raised an eyebrow. "I met them earlier when I was exploring the tower." The blonde said, noticing Kakashi's silent question.

"That's the basics. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask me. However, there are some questions I'm not allowed to answer." The Jonin sensei told them.

"How many parts remain for the exams?" Sasuke asked the obvious question.

"That's one I cannot answer." Kakashi denied. The Uchiha nodded in understanding.

"Can you give us a hint on the next part?" The black haired boy inquired.

"Don't see why not." The Copy Nin shrugged. "The next part is one vs one battles. I have no idea who you'll be facing." He told them.

"What are we supposed to do while we wait?" The lone kunoichi asked.

"Whatever you please. But like I told Naruto earlier, you're prohibited from leaving the tower and from fighting any of the other participants." The masked Jonin informed before leaving to pay Asuma for losing the bet.

"What are you guys going to do?" Naruto asked his teammates.

*Yawn* "I'm still sleeping so I'm going to catch a few more hours of sleep." The pinkette replied before laying back down on the comfortable bed.

"Naruto, you saw the teams that passed earlier. How strong do they look?" Sasuke asked.

"Like I told you the other day, the red head from Suna is extremely dangerous. I have no clue what abilities he and his male teammate possess. I believe that the female member is a wind-user based on the fact that she has a fan on her back." The blonde began telling his teammate about the teams. "I've only met the black haired kunoichi from the Iwa team but I have no information on her. The Kiri team is the one we saw enter right before the first part started." The jinchuriki informed.

"That big guy looks to be Taijutsu specialist but I don't know about the other two." Sasuke concluded with a murmur. "Thanks for the information. I'm going to go find somewhere to train." The Uchiha said.

"I guess I'll go to the front to see if anyone else has passed." The blonde decided and the two boys left the room. Once Naruto arrived at the entrance hall, he plopped down and noted that no one had passed through. Naruto unsealed a slip of paper and ink. He began creating his paralysis seal, in case he needed it. After thirty minutes of intense calligraphy, he finished the seal. Placing it in his pouch, he unsealed a book to read.

"I can't say I'm surprised that you're here as well." A familiar voice said. The blonde didn't need to look up to know it was Shikamaru.

"I just came here to read the book in peace." Naruto replied innocently. The Nara didn't buy the lie. If the blonde really wanted a quiet place to read, he would had stayed in his room. Naruto was here for the same reason as Shikamaru, scouting the teams that passed. "Fine, do you want to play shogi again?" The blonde said as he prepared to put his book up.

"No thanks. I'm just going to take a nap." The lazy genius unsealed a pillow and proceeded to take a nap. Naruto went back to his book as he patiently waited for the next team. Several hours later, a team passed and that team was Fu's team.

"Naruto-kun! Shikamaru-san!" The mint haired girl ecstatically waved. Naruto waved back, glad that Fu's team made it to the next round. The two Konoha-nin listened in as the Taki team's sensei congratulated Hoki and Shibuki for a job well done before dismissing them. The Nara noticed that the sensei didn't say a single word to the Nanabi jinchuriki. Hoki left soon after as well.

"Don't mind him Fu. You did great. It's thanks to you that we advanced this far." Shibuki tried to consul her.

"I know. Thanks Shibuki. I'm alright." She assured him as she made her way upstairs. The Taki leader's son frowned that his teammate was met with such prejudice and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Do you know what that was about?" Shikamaru asked his friend without lifting his head from his pillow.

"It's not my right to say anything. If you're curious, you can ask Fu." The blonde said solemnly. The kunoichi made her way towards them.

"What are you guys doing up here anyway?" She asked.

"Reading/Napping." The two boys simultaneously answered. The Taki-nin tilted her head as they answered.

"Why here?" Fu questioned.

"It's peaceful/quiet." The Konoha-nins once again replied at the same time.

"Do that again!" The mint haired girl exclaimed.

"Do what?" The boys asked. At the question, Fu was giddy with excitement.

"The thing where you talk as if you're twins. Are you twins?" She wondered. "No wait, you look too different." The girl began thinking. "I know! You can read each other minds!" The younger girl said, jumping to her own conclusions. Naruto burst out laughing from her conclusions.

"Sorry Fu but we can't read each other minds. We've just been friends for a long time." The blonde said, damping her spirits lightly.

"Can we be friends too?" She asked the Nara.

"Are you troublesome?" He inquired.

"Um I don't think so." Fu replied hesitantly. Shikamaru quirked a brow, wondering where her enthusiasm went.

"Oi." The Kyuubi jinchuriki nudged his friend.

"As long as you aren't troublesome, we can be friends." The pineapple haired boy replied.

"I promise I won't be troublesome Shikamaru-kun." The girl said quickly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the suffix but didn't comment.

"You want to hang out with us Fu?" Naruto asked and Fu nodded ferociously. The Taki-nin sat down between the boys and unsealed a piece of paper and a pen. "What that?" He questioned.

"This is used to keep track of my goal." She showed proudly after scribbling something down. On the parchment was names of five people. The names written were Chomei, Shibuki, Naruto, Tenten, and newly added Shikamaru. "My goal is to have a 100 friends." Fu said happily. Both boys frowned at the amount of friends she currently had. Besides the unknown Chomei and Shibuki, all her friends were recently acquired.

"Do you remember the group of people I introduced you to during the first part?" The blonde asked. Fu nodded her head to the question. "Those are some of my friends and I know they won't mind being friends with you." He told her.

"Really?" The Taki-nin perked up.

"Yes really." The blonde jinchuriki assured his fellow jinchuriki. Fu happily hugged Naruto while profusely thanking him. That was the scene Team 9 saw as soon as they walked in.

"Naruto-kun's youth shines so bright, he befriended a foreign kunoichi." Lee shouted, not initially recognizing Fu. "Oh it's Fu-san." Bushy brows waved. Tenten was happy to see her friends after spending almost three days in the forest. Neji ignored his teammates and put their scroll into the machine. Soon Gai appeared and wrapped his team in a group hug.

"I'm so proud of you!" Team 9's sensei praised his students. His prized pupil happily returned the gesture. His teammates, not so much, as they desperately struggle to free themselves from their sensei's grip. "Let's go my pupils. You need your rest." Gai said before running off with his team in his arms.

"You see that Fu." Shikamaru chimed. "That right there is the definition of troublesome." The Nara pointed to the dust cloud that Gai left. The trio shared a laugh as they waited for the rest of the teams. After several hours, they decided to retire for the night.

***Near Konoha Gates***

Zabuza sighed as his quest to fight the Konoha Kenjutsu masters had proven unsuccessful. He knew they existed since Naruto told him who they were but so far, they had eluded the bandaged swordsman. All he wanted was a decent fight but he couldn't get it. At least life in Konoha was better than being on the run.

"I can't believe you came to escort me, Momo-chan." A feminine voice came from behind him.

"What did you call me?" The swordsman of the mist questioned menacingly as he turned around to see the person he dreaded the most. Standing just outside the gates was Terumi Mei, Mizukage of Kiri, and her escorts, Ao and Chojuro.

Her piercing green eyes stared at him as her curvaceous body approached him. Mei's ankle-length, auburn hair was layered on the back, a top-knot on top, and four bangs in the front. The two short bangs covered her left eye while her longer bangs crisscrossed under her chin. The Mizukage's attire consisted of a long-sleeved blue dress that fell below the knee, with the front-right side exposed. The dress left the upper part of her arms and chest open, displaying her ample cleavage. Underneath the dress, she wore a dark blue skirt. In addition, she wore mesh armor underneath her outfit. The shin guards and platform sandals completed the outfit.

"It's Zabuza-sempai." Chojuro said, excited to see his senior after so long. The boy had short blue hair and dark eyes. Dark square glasses framed his face while ear protectors were worn on the side. His attire consisted of a blue-striped shirt and camouflage pants. Strapped to his back was Hiramekirai, proving him to be one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist.

"So you are here. The Hokage wasn't lying." Ao commented as he handed over the papers to the gate guard. Ao was a middle aged man that had his blue haired moussed up. He had a black eyepatch on his right eye and two talismans hanging from his ears. He wore the standard striped Kiri outfit underneath his green haori.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Zabuza questioned as he slowly backed away from Mei.

"Aw Momo-chan. You act as if you didn't want to see me." Mei smiled sweetly at him. "I mean, I would understand if you didn't. After all, it was you who tried to be hero and take down Yagura after I clearly told you not to." She recalled. The tall swordsman audibly gulped and paled considerably. "Oh don't worry, I'm not mad." The Mizukage said pleasantly. "I'm downright furious." She was upon him before he could react. Mei reached up and grabbed his ear and yanked it down.

"Ow stop that, you stupid bitch." Zabuza cursed from the pain. The pull only got stronger.

"Shut up or I'll kill you." The Mizukage threatened with a menacing glare. "Let's go. We're going to see the Hokage." She said, pulling him along by the ear.

"At least let go!" He shouted but his protest went unheard. Her bodyguards followed after their kage and her victim. Haku stood in shock as she watched her master get manhandled by an unknown woman. Breaking out of her stupor, the medic-nin chased after them.

***The Next Morning***

When Naruto awoke the next morning, he found out that Team 8 and the Oto-team that attacked them had passed. "You guys should stay ready. There's a chance that all of the remaining teams have been wiped out and we start the next part early." Kakashi advised his team. They heeded his advice and began stretching their limbs.

"Any new information Naruto?" Sasuke asked since he knew that the blonde went to scout. Both Sakura and Kakashi wondered what they were talking about.

"Yesterday when I was there, Team 9 and a Taki team passed. You guys have met already Fu, the Taki kunoichi. I don't know much about her but I know that she's strong. I don't know anything about her male teammates except that their names are Hoki and Shibuki." The jinchuriki informed, not revealing Fu's status.

"Thanks for the info." The Uchiha replied.

"Alright brats. Everyone get down to the first floor. Your sensei will direct you to the location." Anko said over the intercom. "If you aren't down here in five minutes, you're disqualified." She added with a sadistic laugh.

"That's crazy snake lady for you." Naruto commented as he shook his head. Team 7 made their way down and Kakashi led them to a large hall. In the hall, the blonde boy noticed that Team Samui was there although they looked exhausted. Even the normally cool Samui was trying to regain her breath. The other teams that passed and their senseis began filtering in the hall. All the teams made their ways downstairs and waited for Anko.

Soon several people **Shunshin** into the hall. Naruto recognized Anko, Ibiki, Hayate, the Hokage, and the test proctors. Surprisingly, both Haku and Zabuza were also present. He didn't know who the auburn haired woman or the two people beside her were. The short blue haired boy headed to the Kiri team and stood in front of them. "Alright congratulations on passing my test brats. I'm surprised so many of you survived but oh well." Anko said with a Cheshire grin. "Hokage-sama will explain to you the rules of the third test." She said before falling back.

"Thank you Anko." Hiruzen said, stepping forward. "Hello everyone. I want to congratulate you all for making it so far. I want you to know the true reason we have Chunin Exams." He began. "It's true that the test is used to gauge the talents of the upcoming shinobi. That, however, isn't the true reason. This exam is basically a replacement for war." Hiruzen said seriously. Every Genin, except Gaara, was surprised by the fact. "These exams also serve to pull in clients. Many people come to watch the final round. If they see how strong the shinobi are, business will increase. Those that lose are considered weak and lose clients." The Sandaime Hokage explained.

The Genins didn't say anything during Hiruzen's speech. They were either too shocked or didn't bother commenting. "I'll now explain the rules for the third part of the test." The Hokage started but Hayate cut in.

"Hokage-sama, please allow me." The swordsman requested and Hiruzen nodded. "Hello I am Gekko Hayate, the proctor of the third and final test. The test is individual battle. Unfortunately, too many people have passed the second part so we will have preliminaries." Hayate informed.

"Why do we need preliminaries? I thought you said we passed." Hoki shouted.

"As Hokage-sama said earlier, we have many people watching. As a single match might take a long time, we're limited on time. That's why we need to cut the field in half." The proctor explained. "Before we begin, is there anyone who wishes to quit?" Hayate asked. No one replied to the question so he moved on. "We'll now begin the preliminaries. Since thirty people have passed, we'll have fifteen matches." He informed.

"There are rules to the fight. The fight continues unless one of you is killed, knocked out, or surrenders. If you don't want to die, surrender quickly. When I decide that a winner is established, the fight ends immediately. This will decide the matchups." Hayate explained as an electric scoreboard appeared. It came on and pictures of the Genins were seen. The pictures began shuffling as the Genins waited anxiously to see if their name was going to be displayed. Slowly the pictures stopped until only two remained.

**-Akatsuchi vs Uzumaki Naruto-**

Everyone turned to the two who were selected. Akatsuchi smirked at the prospect of fighting Naruto, regardless if the blonde was the Yellow Flash's son or not. The blonde, on the other hand, didn't share his opponent's enthusiasm. The Iwa-nin was considerably bulkier than the jinchuriki, which put Naruto at a disadvantage since there was no place to hide. _'There goes my plan on hiding some of my skills.' _The whiskered boy thought.

"Will the two competitors come to the front while everyone else head to the upper levels?" Hayate ordered as his pupil stayed behind. Naruto received many good lucks from his friends while Kurotsuchi seemed to be whispering something to Akatsuchi.

"I guess I got lucky. I was looking forward to fighting you." The Iwa shinobi said.

"Well I hope I don't disappoint your expectations." The blonde replied as he stretched his limbs.

"Participants ready?" The proctor asked as he inwardly wished his student luck. The two nodded, slipping into their battle stances. "Begin." Hayate swung his hand down and the first match of the preliminaries began.

**Review:**

**iitrnr, NinjaFang1331, davycrockett100, and s.k.f.f.f - **Thank you for reviewing and I hope to have your continued support!

**WeberCode - **I'm guessing you mean next chapter. If so, here it is.

**Ryuujin96 - **Glad you liked Fu's and Naruto's interactions and the written part. Took a long time to come up with that idea. I enjoy having all these different Genin even if some are stronger than others. It is fun writing what if all the nations participated in the exams. This isn't going to be the last arc since I have a few more things planned for Part 1. Orochimaru will not have much of an impact on the Chunin Exams like he did in canon.

**outcastmike – **Thanks, glad that it was well-received. I hope this test was just as interesting.

**LordGhostStriker -** It sucks that you didn't like it but I understand what you mean. The first part is usually the most boring of the entire exams.

**Gold Testament - **Haha Ibiki's request just popped in my head at the end and I knew I had to add it.

**Cerulean Knight - **I honestly don't know what an eldritch blast is. I even googled it and I was still confused. Can you offer me an explanation?

**buterflypus - **Glad you liked the exam idea.

**DhanaRagnarok - **Yay! You receive an internet cookie since I can't give you a real one lol. I want to hear these theories so go on and lay them at me. Purple should be Aki's nickname. Glad you enjoyed the exams. I was indeed hinting about Lee learning silent killing. I actually had to look up that Warhammer reference.

**emilbootanimefreak - **Yeah no one likes reading the same things over and over. Have you seen the Kiri-nin before? Go ahead and tell me your theories because I'm interested on what you think.

**Waldo Santiago -** What about the OCs made you worried? I tried to make Naruto remain canonish but smarter than before. I'll try to revise it when I have time.

**Reign of Sorrow -** I don't know if I mentioned it before but what a great username. Thanks for the support.

**Shigure Toshiro - **That was the point of the quiz. It made you think outside the box. Better luck next time though.

**six samurai of dragon order -** I agree but I don't own Naruto so it stays E-Rank.

**Stratos263 - **Thank you for reviewing chapters 1-8.

**zafnak - **I took some digging to find those trick questions. Great idea. Totally should've done that. Oh well, there's always next time.

**Dead Pann - **I'm currently trying to figure that out right now. That question is for a later time.

**loganhunter2 - **Binge reading is awesome. Of course until you reach the last chapter.

**1stHorseman - **I'll try my best.

**Dragon and Sword Master - **It's awesome that you like it. I hope to keep things as interesting as possible.


	15. Chapter 15

**New A.N.**

All three of my stories have adopted. I thank everyone for wishing me good luck in my life. I thank the three authors that will continue my stories. This is my farewell to Fanfiction. If I ever do come back, I'll probably write the story Naruto story below if no one picks it up. That's a slim chance however. Without further ado, bye guys!

**Team Cana** has been officially adopted by **Derekjay2000**! Please give them your support when they release the story.

**Shichibukai Strawhat **has been officially adopted by **pizzajon**! Please give them your support when they release the story.

**Master of the Basics **has been officially adopted by **aroneden**! Please give them your support when they release the story.

A.N.

Hello to all my readers. I've decided to give up writing because I simply do not have the time to spare. Balancing work, family, and college is too time consuming. I did not want to leave my readers waiting for chapters that won't come. I will like to thank everyone for supporting my stories. As of now, all my stories are up for adoption. If you are interested, PM me and I will hand over the outline and chapters to that story. If you are simply interested in the story's plot, PM me and I will hand over the outline as well.

I will need your e-mail address to send over the plot outline though. Please PM your e-mail like this:

someone at yahoo . com

Also if anyone is interested, I have this idea for a Naruto story that I would love for someone to write.

Synopsis: After the death of Nawaki, Tsunade becomes the last remaining Senju. Not wanting one of their founding clans to die out, the council proposes the Clan Restoration Act. Unfortunately when they implemented it, Tsunade had left Konohagakure with a young Shizune. The CRA was all but forgotten until Minato became the Yondaime Hokage, thus creating the Namikaze Clan. Now the council is forcing Minato to marry more than one woman, much to Kushina's displeasure.

If someone does decide to write it, I have an outline for this story as well. Of course that does not mean you need to follow it. Anyone can use this idea if they want.


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